In the January-February period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 137.7 million mt, 160.34 million mt and 221.19 million mt, decreasing by 2.7 percent, 3.6 percent and 1.1 percent year on year, respectively, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
During the Two Sessions in March this year, deepening the rectification of involution-style competition was explicitly designated as one of the key tasks for China’s annual economic work.
Accordingly, Zhao Minge, party secretary and chairman of Shougang Group, suggested that relevant state departments should convey the policy signal of continuing to implement crude steel production control to market players as early as possible, and strive to issue the national crude steel production control target in the first quarter, which would help steel enterprises arrange their annual production plans in advance and ensure the implementation of annual reduction tasks.
As per previous forecasts by various resources, China’s crude steel output is expected to decrease to 930-944 million mt in 2026, compared to 960.81 million mt recorded in 2025.