China’s northern Inner Mongolia region is aiming for a fivefold increase in rare earth production value by 2025. This comes as the country’s near-total dominance of global supply raises concerns about its possible use as a bargaining chip.
“Inner Mongolia’s rare earth industry is in the unique position of having three elements – resources, manufacturing, and research and development – in one place,” deputy chief of industry and information technology Wu Suhai said as he called for a consolidation of industry chains.
The region aims to reach rare earth production value of 100 billion yuan (US$15.7 billion) by 2025, he said on Sunday, an increase of about five times over 2020 figures.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals essential to manufacturing circuitry found in everyday electronics from fridges to mobile phones, as well as military vehicles.
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