Baotou Rare Earth High-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Founded in 1990, Baotou Rare Earth High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (包头稀土高新技术产业开发区) sits on a total area of 120 square kilometers with a construction area of 15.5 sq km, and was built for a total cost of 3.22 billion yuan ($487.4 million). It got national high-tech industrial development zone approval from the State Council in 1992 and is China's only zone with "rare earth" designation, and is one of 24 major development zones in Inner Mongolia.

Its leading industries are new energy equipment, non-ferrous metal processing, and high-level technology.

The zone is home to more than 4,600 enterprises, among which, 65 are involved with rare earths, 22 are listed enterprises, seven are listed on the Fortune Global 500 and 39 are foreign-invested. The zone has 49 high-tech enterprises, accounting for 40 percent of the zone’s total number; it has six talented individuals who were introduced by the Thousand Talents Program, around 60 percent of the region’s total number; it has 26 engineering specialists honored as Grassland Talents, accounting for 50 percent of the total number for the region; it has been granted 2,410 patents, accounting for 50 percent of the total number for Baotou city. There are also as many as 50 research and development centers among which three are rated as national-level facilities. It also has five innovation and entrepreneurship teams which employ 329 overseas returnees.

The zone has been awarded 18 national-level titles by related authorities, which include national new industrial demonstration base of rare earth new materials, national high-tech industrial demonstration base of rare earth new materials, and national innovation park.