China's state-owned rare-earth giants, China Rare Earth Group Co and GRINM Group Corp, signed an agreement on Tuesday to  set up a joint rare-earth innovation hub, a move which marks China's latest efforts to integrate production and research resources to push for high-quality development in the rare-earth industry.

According to a statement by the China Rare Earth Group Co published on its WeChat account on Wednesday, the two companies will deepen integration of scientific research resources in areas like rare-earth permanent magnet materials, rare-earth catalytic materials, as well as the development and exploitation of rare-earth resources. 

The statement also noted the two sides will strengthen training of scientific talents, strengthen basic research on industrial applications, as well as strive to create a world-class innovation center on rare-earth material engineering technology.

The Chairman of the China Rare Earth Group Co, Ao Hong, said he hoped the two companies can use the innovation hub as an opportunity to further expand the areas and scope of cooperation to "genuinely solve a batch of crucial, common problems and difficulties faced by the domestic rare-earth industries," the Securities Times reported.

Wu Chenhui, an independent industrial analyst, told the Global Times that one major problem plaguing China's rare-earth industries is how to achieve a comprehensive management and coordination of China's rare-earth industry as it has been running in a separate, fragmented manner for a long period. 

Last year, China set up the China Rare Earth Group Co through the merging of several key producers of rare-earth minerals, a move that marked China's determination not to squander the precious resources and, instead, use them in more strategic industries such as semiconductors, some experts previously told the Global Times. 

On the other hand, cooperation between China's new rare-earth behemoth and GRINM Group Co , a company that has been committed to the development and application of common rare-earth key technologies, also reflects China's efforts to integrate production and research to push rare-earth industries to a higher level, experts said. 

"The GRINM Group Co should no longer worry about supplies of rare-earths through cooperation with China Rare Earth Group Co and could use its partner’s resources to expand rare-earth research and applications," Wu noted. 

According to GRINM 's official website, the company's business involves multiple rare-earth technologies, like beneficiation and metallurgy of nonferrous rare earths, as well as special processing techniques. 

Zhao Xiaochen, Chairman of the GRINM Group said that the company will give full play to its advantages in areas like technologies and talents to speed up breakthroughs in core rare-earth technologies, the Securities Times reported.