China is the world's largest exporter of rare earth material, with one-third of the total global reserves. But the country has not benefited as much as it could from the abundant reserves. That's because it has to pay to import the high-value-added products that these rare-earth materials are used in. CGTN reporter Hu Chao visited one of China's six state-owned rare earth groups that is trying to bring change.

What is rare earth material? In this Rare Earth Exhibition Hall, the narrator describes it as a group of seventeen elements with similar properties. A rare earth ore doesn't look like soil at all. It's still a rock. Experts say these minerals have magical qualities and can greatly enhance products' performance. This exhibition hall is located in China's rare earth capital of Baotou in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The city's Bayan Obo mine has the world's largest rare earth reserve.

HU CHAO BAOTOU, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "In this Rare Earth Exhibition Hall, you can learn about this fascinating industry in China, from its history and current development to the hopes and expectations experts have for the future. And you can find out which products use these rare earth elements."

Rare earth minerals can be used to manufacture lots of things, from a variety of vehicles and electronic devices to some daily necessities. They are specially used in military and space industries. The permanent magnetic units produced by the Northern Rare Earth Group were used in China's Long March rockets and Shenzhou spaceship. This exhibition hall was built by the Northern Rare Earth Group. It's the biggest company of its kind in China. The group has established a full rare earth industry chain. Using world-leading technology of smelting and extraction, the group focused on producing rare earth minerals. But it has expanded its activities.

CUI LINGXIAO HEAD OF BAOTOU RESEARCH INST. OF RARE EARTH "The group used to produce low-end products, with few requirements on quality and environment protection. But later, we started to improve quality, lower the cost and invest more in technology research and innovation."

The group has also been promoting a rare earth plus strategy, aiming to use rare earth in more fields.

CUI LINGXIAO HEAD OF BAOTOU RESEARCH INST. OF RARE EARTH "While rare earth minerals are mainly used in military and other high-end industries, we have been working on extending its application to civilian products, like using it in PVC materials, iron and steel, and magnesium alloy. Their weight will be greatly reduced yet with the same strength."

Cui says China's rare earth industry now aims at the downstream sector of the industry chain.

CUI LINGXIAO HEAD OF BAOTOU RESEARCH INST. OF RARE EARTH "We are now active in up and midstream sectors of the global industry chain. But we are trying to catch up with some developed countries who use high technologies and are active in the downstream sector."

HU CHAO BAOTOU, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "The Northern Rare Earth Group says it has been increasing its market share of downstream products in recent years. As the industry gets stronger, it is moving toward an intensive development model that focuses on quality and efficiency. Hu Chao, CGTN, Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous region."