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Steel industry in China

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The Main Plant Area of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Company

China's steel industry, initially small and hindered by war, expanded rapidly following market reforms in 1978, eventually becoming the world's largest producer. Despite this growth, the industry faced challenges with high debt, market volatility, and environmental pressures. Rising exports from 2023-2024 led to global oversupply, price drops, and tariffs, prompting China to halt new steel mill approvals and encourage overseas investments. China's central government has also worked to phase out unprofitable "zombie" companies while pushing for stricter environmental controls on steel production.

History

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China became the world's largest steel producer in the late 1990s.[1]: 101 

20th century

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See also: Technological and industrial history of the People's Republic of China §Iron and steel

From the early 1900s through both world wars, China's steel industry was small and sparsely populated. The industry's infrastructure which had relied on Soviet technology was mostly destroyed during the wars.

The steel industry became a priority during the country's First Five-Year Plan period (1953–1957), when industrial development became China's primary goal.[2]: 67  Power plants, steel, mining, machinery, chemicals, and national defense were deemed high priorities.[2]: 18 [3]: 289  Among the large steel mills built or expanded under Soviet-style planning, only Anshan Iron and Steel operated close to the desired capacity by 1956.[3]: 299  During this time, slow steel production hindered China's industrial growth.[3]: 299 

As a result, Chinese leadership mandated a major increase in steel production in late 1957 and early 1958.[3]: 299  These efforts included major investments in large scale steel manufacturing as well as the reorganization of urban labor in an effort to produce steel at other scales.[3]: 299 

China underwent rapid economic industrialisation since Deng Xiaoping's market reforms which took place in 1978.[4]

The steel industry gradually increased its output. China's annual crude steel output was 100 million tons in 1996.[5]

21st century

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China produced over 1 billion tonnes of crude steel in 2022, 52.9% of the world's total production,[6] and up from 123 million tonnes (121,000,000 long tons; 136,000,000 short tons) of steel in 1999. After ascension to the WTO China aggressively expanded production for export and the growing appetite of local manufacturing industries such as automotive vehicles, consumer electronics and building materials.[4][6]

The Chinese steel industry is dominated by a number of large state-owned groups which are owned via shareholdings by local authorities, provincial governments and even the central authorities.[citation needed] According to China Iron and Steel Association, The top 5 steel groups by production volume in 2015 are Baosteel Group–Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation, Hesteel Group, Shagang Group, Ansteel Group and Shougang Group.[7]

By 2008 raw materials such as Iron ore prices grew and China had to reluctantly agree to price increases by the three largest iron ore producers in the world; BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale.[4] During the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the Chinese steel mills won price reprieves as demand from their customers slowed. When the demand started to pick up again in 2009 and in 2010, the price crept back up due to higher demand for automobiles, low interest rates, government fiscal stimuli around the world.[8] Prices for iron ore were negotiated on an annual contract pricing scheme.[9] [10][11][12] Australian iron ore producers were not happy that iron prices did not reflect Spot market pricing. In 2010 pressure from BHP and Rio Tinto to move to a quarterly based index pricing succeeded.[13] Many Japanese steel mills and Chinese steel companies had to follow as demand for raw materials heated up.[13][14][15] Spot-basis pricing has caused problems for steel manufacturers such as exposing them to price fluctuation in the market and reducing the stability of resource supply. Steel mills prefer long term pricing to hedge against cost and maintain raw material supply stability.[16] Rio Tinto has said it will cancel contracts and sell the steel on the spot markets if Chinese steel mills back down on the new quarterly pricing regime.[16]

In 2011 China was the largest producer of steel in the world producing 45% of the world's steel, 683 million tons, an increase of 9% from 2010. 6 of 10 of largest steel producers in the world are in China. Profits are low despite continued high demand due to high debt and overproduction of high end products produced with the equipment financed by the high debt. The central government is aware of this problem but there is no easy way to resolve it as local governments strongly support local steel production. Meanwhile, each firm aggressively increases production.[17]

China was the top exporter of steel in the world in 2008. Export volumes in 2008 were 59.23 million tons, a 5.5% fall over the previous year.[18] The decline ended China's decade-old steel export growth. As of 2012 steel exports faced widespread anti-dumping taxes and had not returned to pre-2008 levels. Domestic demand remained strong, particularly in the developing west where steel production in Xinjiang was expanding.[17]

On 26 April 2012 a warning was issued by China's bank regulator to use caution with respect to lending money to steel companies who, as profits from the manufacture and sale of steel have fallen, have sometimes used borrowed money for speculative purposes. According to the China Iron and Steel Association the Chinese steel industry lost 1 billion Rmb in the first quarter of 2012, its first loss since 2000.[19]

As of 2015 the global steel market was weak with both Ukraine and Russia attempting to export large amounts of steel.[20] Weak domestic demand in 2014 resulted in record exports of 100 million metric tons of steel by the Chinese steel industry.[21]

In 2015, China produced 49.6% of the world's steel.[1]: 101 

Efforts by the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection under the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution has resulted in pressure on steel mills in Linyi and Chengde to employ environmental protection measures on pain of being closed down.[22]

In the context of lowered demand (see also 2015–16 Chinese stock market crash), in 2016 the Chinese state announced large scale closures and redundancies in heavy and primary industries, many of which were functioning as zombie companies, with 1.8 million redundancies (15% of workforce) in the coal and steel industries planned to take place by 2020.[23]

Amidst the Chinese property sector crisis and weakening demand for steel at a domestic level, China's steel exports surged in 2023 and 2024, primarily going to developing countries. This glut triggered a substantial decline in the price of steel at a global level, which in turn prompted another wave of tariffs against Chinese steel from both developed and developing countries. The Chinese government responded to the steel glut by suspending approvals of new steel mills in August 2024. Additionally, Chinese steelmakers hoping to retain a presence in foreign markets have increased foreign investments in steel mills abroad, hoping to remedy excess capacity.[24][25][26]

As of at least 2024, the Chinese steel industry is highly fragmented, with a large number of companies.[1]: 101 

List of companies in China

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Massot, Pascale (2024). China's Vulnerability Paradox: How the World's Largest Consumer Transformed Global Commodity Markets. New York, NY, United States of America: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-777140-2.
  2. ^ a b Hou, Li (2021). Building for Oil: Daqing and the Formation of the Chinese Socialist State. Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 978-0-674-26022-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e Harrell, Stevan (2023). An Ecological History of Modern China. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295751719.
  4. ^ a b c "China's Steel Sector in Transition". Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  5. ^ William Thomas Hogan, 2000 The Steel Industry of China, Lexington Books,ISBN 0-7391-0081-5, 978-0-7391-0081-3, 80 pages
  6. ^ a b "World Steel in Figures 2022". Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  7. ^ "World Steel Association - Top steel-producing companies". Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  8. ^ Matthews, Robert Guy (1 June 2010). "Steelmakers Crank Up Output: Surging Production in China, Eastern Europe Puts Downward Pressure on Prices as Inventories Rise". Wall Street Journal. p. B1. ProQuest 2651616907.
  9. ^ "China iron ore price talks in chaos". Theage.com.au. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  10. ^ "BHP Billiton in 'significant win' on iron-ore contracts". The Age. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Iron ore price fight | Herald Sun". www.heraldsun.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Lateline Business – 30/03/2010: BHP moves to short-term ore contracts". Abc.net.au. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  13. ^ a b "BHP strikes short term iron ore contracts | News.com.au". Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  14. ^ Talek Harris (30 March 2010). "Mining titan BHP in landmark iron ore pricing move". News.smh.com.au. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  15. ^ "BHP Treads Softly on Iron Ore Price Revolution". The Australian. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  16. ^ a b Chambers, Matt (16 June 2010). "Rio threat to China steel mills". The Australian. p. 32. ProQuest 375460312.
  17. ^ a b "In China's Floundering Steel Sector, the Burden of Politics". New York Times. Reuters. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  18. ^ Steel exports fall in 2008 – People's Daily Online. English.people.com.cn (12 February 2009). Retrieved on 6 August 2010.
  19. ^ Simon Rabinovitch; Leslie Hook (4 June 2012). "China warns on lending to steel plants". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  20. ^ Manolo Serapio Jr. and Maytaal Angel (27 February 2015). "Cheap is king: Russia, Ukraine add to China steel export flood". Reuters. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  21. ^ Neil Gough (11 March 2015). "For Chinese Economy, Steel Goes From Strength to Weakness". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2015. China shipped a record 100 million metric tons of steel overseas in the 12 months to the end of February, a 55 percent increase from the previous 12 months.
  22. ^ "China Cracks Down on Steel's Smog". The New York Times. No. The New York Times. Reuters. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  23. ^ Petricic, Sasa (3 March 2016), "Massive layoffs coming as China confronts its overbuilt 'zombie economy'", CBC News
  24. ^ "China Puts Brakes on New Steel Mills With Industry in Crisis". Bloomberg. 22 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Chinese overcapacity is crushing the global steel industry". The Economist. 17 September 2024.
  26. ^ "The world's largest steel industry is going through a 'winter' amid a supply glut and weak demand". CNBC. 21 August 2024.

Further reading

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  • Guo, Z.C.; Fu, Z.X. (November 2010). "Current situation of energy consumption and measures taken for energy saving in the iron and steel industry in China". Energy. 35 (11): 4356–4360. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2009.04.008.
  • Lin, Boqiang; Wang, Xiaolei (July 2015). "Carbon emissions from energy intensive industry in China: Evidence from the iron & steel industry". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 47: 746–754. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.03.056.
  • Lin, Yuancheng; Yang, Honghua; Ma, Linwei; Li, Zheng; Ni, Weidou (13 November 2021). "Low-Carbon Development for the Iron and Steel Industry in China and the World: Status Quo, Future Vision, and Key Actions". Sustainability. 13 (22): 12548. doi:10.3390/su132212548.
  • Zhu, Xuehong; Zeng, Anqi; Zhong, Meirui; Huang, Jianbai; Qu, Hongping (February 2019). "Multiple impacts of environmental regulation on the steel industry in China: A recursive dynamic steel industry chain CGE analysis". Journal of Cleaner Production. 210: 490–504. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.350. S2CID 158505351.
  • Ross, Marc; Feng, Liu (May 1991). "The energy efficiency of the steel industry of China". Energy. 16 (5): 833–848. doi:10.1016/0360-5442(91)90071-S.
  • Hogan, William Thomas (1999). The Steel Industry of China: Its Present Status and Future Potential. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-0081-3.
  • Zhou, Kaile; Yang, Shanlin (August 2016). "Emission reduction of China׳s steel industry: Progress and challenges". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 61: 319–327. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2016.04.009.
  • Yu, Bing; Li, Xiao; Qiao, Yuanbo; Shi, Lei (February 2015). "Low-carbon transition of iron and steel industry in China: Carbon intensity, economic growth and policy intervention". Journal of Environmental Sciences. 28: 137–147. doi:10.1016/j.jes.2014.04.020. PMID 25662248.
  • Wu, Xuecheng; Zhao, Liang; Zhang, Yongxin; Zhao, Lingjie; Zheng, Chenghang; Gao, Xiang; Cen, Kefa (December 2016). "Cost and potential of energy conservation and collaborative pollutant reduction in the iron and steel industry in China". Applied Energy. 184: 171–183. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.09.094.
  • Shen, Jialin; Zhang, Qi; Xu, Lisong; Tian, Shuoshuo; Wang, Peng (December 2021). "Future CO2 emission trends and radical decarbonization path of iron and steel industry in China". Journal of Cleaner Production. 326: 129354. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129354. S2CID 244599780.
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