Russian Rare Earth Industry: Should China’s Experience be Adopted?

Abstract

The most important feature of China’s policy in national rare-earth industry is the creation of technological chains “from raw materials to high-tech products” with orientation on domestic demand only. Russia now faces the problem of choosing the way of how to develop the rare earth industry, and in experience of China, can be useful. In particular, this is relevant because of the beginning of the Tomtor niobium-rare-earth deposit development. However Russian approach should be flexible and combine various instruments of industrial and trade policy. It would be difficult to introduce the instruments of such a policy used in China because of the national specifics and different starting conditions for building a rare-earth industry in Russia and China. Russia should enter into global chains of high-tech products based on rare earths, and the first is a stimulation of domestic demand for high-tech products and components. China’s experience seems to be useful there.