China is building ‘full-stack’ defense-innovation cities

The city of Baotou—long the heart of the rare-earths mining sector that has given China a stranglehold over the modern economy—is now working to establish entire next-generation production chains. In Inner Mongolia’s second-largest city, processed ores flow quickly to factories that make magnets and motors, and onward to production lines that crank out drones, eVTOL aircraft, and even humanoid robots. The result is an industrial powerhouse that other Chinese cities are working