The 14th China Baotou Rare Earth Industry Forum opened in Baotou on Aug 18. The China Rare Earth Society 2022 Academic Annual Conference was held simultaneously.

The tagline of the forum is "enhancing the technological innovation capabilities of the rare earth industry and ensuring the stability and security of the industrial and supply chains".

Academicians, experts and scholars, university scientific research institutes, and industry enterprise representatives discussed the strong connection of upstream and downstream industries to help the industry move towards a new era of high-end, intelligent and green development.

Li Bo, chairman of the China Rare Earth Society and general manager of China Iron and Steel Research Institute Group, said that Baotou, as a rare earth resource and industrial cluster, is highly influential in the global rare earth field.

Zhang Rui, mayor of Baotou, said that the city will use continuous innovation investment and achievements to reflect the strategic resource value of rare earth and the booming rare earth industry to build a strategic resource industrial hub. By 2025, the industry is expected to achieve an output value of 100 billion yuan ($14.73 billion).

In addition, a centralized project signing ceremony was held during the event. A total of 50 project agreements were signed with a total investment of 30.3 billion yuan, and awards were given to projects and individuals who won the 2021 Rare Earth Science and Technology Award.