“Raw material industries, including the steel industry, the chemical industry, the non-ferrous metal industry and the construction material industry, are the basic industries and provide solid support for the national economy, with their operating revenue accounting for 31 percent of the overall revenue of industry in 2019. However, during the 2021-25 period, the growth of raw material industries will slow down, and will likely reach the peak level,” as stated by Xiao Jinsong, director of the Materials Industry Research Institute at the China Electronic Information Industry Development Research Institute at the first Cedi Industry Economic Forum held in Beijing on March 18.
According to Mr. Xiao, among 22 categories of steel products, the self-sufficiency rate of 17 categories in China has reached 100 percent, while China’s crude steel output accounts for 53.3 percent of the overall global crude steel output. During the 2016-20 period, China eliminated 150 million mt of outdated steel capacity two years earlier than the original timeline.
As for the future five years, Xiao said the industrial concentration of the steel industry in China will be enhanced further.
China will promote industrial optimization and upgrading of the steel industry, and will build up a raw material manufacturing industry cluster with world influence, for instance, a steel industry cluster in central China. At the same time, China will carry out research and draw up a timeline of peak carbon dioxide emissions, and further promote energy conservation and emission reduction measures.