Elizabeth Gaines, CEO of the world’s fourth largest miner Australia-based Fortescue has said that Fortescue foresees a 3-4 percent increase in Chinese crude steel production in 2019, despite an economic slowdown, as reported by Nikkei Asian Review.
“Continued investment in infrastructure is a way to continue to stimulate the economy," Nikkei quoted Ms. Gaines as saying, indicating the high-speed rail projects which have been announced in China. Fortescue CEO said that the trade war with the US has no direct impact on China's steel sector, but added that there might be some indirect impact.
In 2018, Chinese crude steel output increased by 10 percent to 928 million mt compared to 2017.