Xiao Yaqing, minister of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), stated on December 29 at a national conference on industry and information technology that China will have to resolutely cut crude steel output in 2021 compared to 2020.
China will make efforts to promote low-carbon industrial development and green manufacturing in 2021, said Mr. Xiao. Previously, China had announced that it will strive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), China met its target of reducing steel capacity by 150 million mt ahead of schedule, which helped to reduce energy consumption and emissions.
As SteelOrbis reported previously, the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute (MPI) issued its steel demand forecast for China in 2021, announcing that China’s steel demand will amount to 991 million mt in 2021, up 1.0 percent year on year, while steel production will also rise, by 1.4 percent. If the market environment will be as positive as expected, it will be hard for the Chinese authorities to limit total crude steel production in the country much, but they will encourage more eco-friendly steel production, market sources believe.