Mao’s Steel Focus Overlooked Rare Earth Value
During Mao Zedong’s 27-year rule, China focused heavily on boosting steel output to support industrial and military development. Mao rarely prioritised the quality of steel.
As a result, the country produced large volumes of weak iron and steel unsuitable for complex industrial uses. Meanwhile, British and American metallurgists discovered in the 1940s that adding cerium to molten iron improved ductility.
Cerium, a light rare earth, soon found use in pipelines, automotive parts, and glass. This marked one of rare earths’ early industrial roles.
Mao Zedong, Former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
Deng Xiaoping Initiates Rare Earth Expansion
In 1978, Deng Xiaoping rose to power and began reviving China’s lagging industries. He appointed Fang Yi as vice premier and director of the State Science and Technology Commission.
Fang led a scientific delegation to Baotou in Inner Mongolia. Baotou already supplied steel for China’s military under Mao. However, Fang’s team aimed to do more than produce iron and steel.
The team decided to extract rare earths from the iron ore near Baotou. The deposit contained large quantities of light and medium rare earths, including cerium, lanthanum, and samarium.
Cerium supports iron and glass industries, lanthanum helps refine oil, and samarium powers magnets in fighter jets and missiles. Fang highlighted rare earths’ wide industrial value during the 1978 visit.
Fang Yi, Vice Premier and Director of the State Science and Technology Commission
“Rare earths have important application value in steel, ductile iron, glass and ceramics, military industry, electronics and new materials,” he said.
China Learns from American Industry
Following the Baotou visit, Fang took engineers to tour US factories, including Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas facilities.
At the time, Sino-American relations improved significantly. China’s visits to leading Western plants helped shape its industrial policies.
Rare earths occur tightly bonded in nature, requiring complex separation techniques. The West used stainless steel systems and nitric acid for rare earth separation.
These techniques were costly and difficult to maintain. China’s leaders directed research institutions to develop cheaper alternatives.
Chinese engineers soon succeeded using plastic equipment and hydrochloric acid instead. This approach drastically lowered refining costs and boosted China’s competitive edge.
Samples of rare earth minerals from the Bayan Obo mining district on display at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing in May 2025
Environmental Loopholes Help China Undercut Rivals
China’s refineries operated with minimal environmental oversight. This allowed them to offer earths at prices below Western producers.
Western nations, facing growing environmental concerns, began closing earth facilities in the 1990s. China continued expanding its rare earth infrastructure.
By this period, China had discovered that it held nearly half of global earth reserves. These included critical heavy rare earths near Longnan in south-central China.
Heavy rare earths are vital for making magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and medical equipment.
The Bayan Obo mine
Beijing Masters Heavy Rare Earth Processing
By the 1990s and 2000s, Chinese refinery engineers successfully separated heavy earths, a process previously dominated by Western scientists.
China’s mastery of this technique eliminated most international competition. It created a near-total monopoly on heavy earth production.
Deng Xiaoping made a earth reference in 1992 that shaped future policy. “The Middle East has oil. China has rare earths,” he said.
His government had already laid the foundation to turn that resource into global influence.
Also Read: Toxic Legacy Beneath China’s Rare Earth Power: Pollution, Radiation and a Global Wake-Up Call
Wen Jiabao Becomes Rare Earth Architect
Wen Jiabao, a geologist trained during the Cultural Revolution, became central to earth development.
He studied earth sciences at the Beijing Institute of Geology in the late 1960s. He entered leadership ranks as vice premier in 1998 and became premier in 2003.
Wen maintained personal oversight of earth policy. In 2010, he confirmed this level of involvement during a visit to Europe.
He declared that earth decisions in China did not occur without his direct knowledge or approval.
Global Wake-Up Follows Chinese Export Cuts
Global interest in earths surged after China temporarily suspended exports in recent months. The move exposed reliance on Chinese supply.
Many governments had previously overlooked earths, but Beijing had long treated them as strategic assets.
China’s earth rise reflects decades of state-backed planning, industrial policy, and low-cost production strategies.
Its approach combined geological advantage, industrial engineering, and lenient regulation to build an unmatched global position.
Conclusion
China’s it earth dominance was neither accidental nor short-term. It emerged from deliberate leadership decisions, scientific investment, and international learning.
The world’s technological systems now depend on resources China developed through decades of economic focus and policy support.
