(Refiles to fix URL to graphics microsite, removes dateline)By Lewis Jackson, Ernest Scheyder, Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa, Claire Fu and Melanie BurtonJune 1 (Reuters) – Every year, several hundred young adults head to the steppes of northern China to learn about rare earths at schools like the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology.After completing undergraduate study, they may venture a few kilometers up the six-lane Rare Earths Street in Baotou, where they can work for state-owned refiners that convert the critical minerals into magnets that power jet engines, electric vehicles and wind turbines. Or, the graduates may pursue further studies at the nearby Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute – roughly 150 km (93 miles) from the world’s largest rare earths mine.AdvertisementAdvertisement(For a version of this story with graphics, visit )U.S. President Donald Trump and other Western leaders have pledged billions of dollars in investments to break China’s chokehold on rare earths refining – a powerful lever Beijing has wielded in its trade war with Washington. But China still holds a significant advantage in the pipeline of talent that it has developed over decades in places like Baotou.China has created an ecosystem of more than 40 specialist rare-earth laboratories that produce cutting-edge research, supplemented by at least 11 universities and technical colleges that collectively enroll more than 500 students annually in rare earths degree programs, a Reuters examination has found. That accumulated expertise sustains Beijing’s grip on global supplies of refined rare earths.Several U.S. institutions have begun incorporating more of a focus on rare earths in their curriculum, though Reuters could not identify a school outside China that offers a specific undergraduate degree. The Ames National Laboratory in Iowa, whose remit goes bey …
