On June 2, 2026, Hong Kong media outlet Hong Kong01 reported that China maintains overwhelming dominance in the global rare earth refining supply chain through a specialized human resource development system cultivated over many years by universities and research institutions.

【その他の写真】

The article introduced that, according to a Reuters investigation, it was found that China has established a system to accept over 500 people annually in more than 40 laboratories and over 11 universities and vocational schools. It reported that educational institutions such as Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology and Jiangxi University of Science and Technology offer highly specialized curricula covering all stages of the industrial chain, such as processing, metallurgy, and magnet manufacturing.

It also explained that students receive over 100 hours of specialized lectures in rare earth chemistry, material science, and other fields, conduct research projects jointly with companies before graduation, and after graduation, they are placed in an environment where they can further their studies at state-owned enterprises or research institutes near the Bayan Obo Mine in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which is one of the world's largest light rare earth mining areas.

Jiangxi University of Science and Technology
And it was pointed out that such close collaboration between academia and industry supports the rapid and low-cost production of Chinese companies. Konstantin Karayannopoulos, former CEO of Canada's Neo Performance Materials, was quoted as saying, "Graduates hired in China can start work immediately, whereas in other countries, training new recruits usually takes three years."

The article mentioned that Western leaders, such as former US President Donald Trump, aim to break the monopoly through massive investments, but human resource development has not kept pace. Furthermore, it stated that rare earth majors do not exist in US universities, and the number of related degrees awarded in 2023 was only about 200.

Moreover, it reported that the US government will invest billions of dollars starting in 2024 to rebuild professional capabilities in the mining industry and is proceeding with legislative deliberations to support international cooperation with allies. (Edited and translated by Kawajiri)