A delegation led by Jia Yinsong, top official of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of the People’s Republic of China, paid a visit to Baotou on Feb 13 and 14, highlighting the inspection of the rare earth industry and new material industry in the city, reports Baotou Daily.

The delegation visited related institutions and companies in the city including Baotou Rare Earth Research and Development Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Baotou Changrong Battery Co.

Jia thought highly of the progress Baotou had made in these industries, and advocated for the continual upgrading and transformation of industries.

The largest industrial city of North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region has been making strides in becoming “China’s Capital of Rare Earth.” The city now boasts 20 national rare earth high-tech-based companies and two academic workstations for rare earth research. More than 3,000 professionals work in the rare earth industry. A total of 45 new material-related companies have been set up in Baotou, taking up seven percent of the companies above the designated scale.