A few days ago, the 19th China Iron and Steel Industry Chain Market Summit and Lange Steel Network 2023 Annual Conference was held in Beijing. The meeting was guided by the China Metal Materials Circulation Association and co-sponsored by Lange Steel Network and Beijing Metal Materials Circulation Industry Association. Focusing on the theme of "New Prospects for the Industry - Capacity Governance Mechanism and Structural Development", representatives of relevant political, business and academic circles took the pulse of the macroeconomic situation, focused on the hot spots of the steel industry, and jointly developed the development direction of the industry.
To effectively promote the transformation and upgrading of the steel industry and high-quality development, it is necessary to assess the situation and plan systematically. He Wenbo, Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Chairman of China Iron and Steel Association, said at the meeting that at present, the steel industry should focus on the fundamental task of improving the basic capacity of the industry and the level of the industrial chain, adhere to the two major development themes of green development and intelligent manufacturing, focus on solving the three major industry pain points of controlling capacity expansion, promoting industrial concentration and ensuring resource safety, and continue to promote the internationalization of China's iron and steel industry.
He Wenbo pointed out that urbanization, marketization and internationalization have achieved the world status of China's iron and steel industry, and the two major constraints of resources and environment have forced the rapid transformation of China's iron and steel industry. "The transformation of the steel industry is essentially a green transition. "The green and low-carbon of steel runs through and covers the whole process and the whole industry, and if the steel is not transformed, it is difficult to achieve the green and low-carbon of the entire industrial system.
In order to cope with the complex situation, He Wenbo proposed that it is necessary to correctly understand and handle the eight relationships of steel layout, that is, "more and less", "big and small", "in and out", "inside and outside", "sea and land", "long and short", "country and people", "iron and carbon". Among them, "entry and exit" and "inside and outside" are two aspects of internationalization and globalization. He Wenbo specifically mentioned that due to resource and environmental constraints, China's iron and steel does not have the conditions to maintain a high proportion of exports, but it is necessary to encourage and support the export of high value-added products, and encourage iron and steel enterprises to establish long-term cooperative relations with downstream leading enterprises on a global scale, which is an important driving force for enterprises to continue to maintain technological innovation. As competition in the international market becomes increasingly fierce and tariff and non-tariff barriers become more common, it is crucial to strive for and create a level playing field for Chinese enterprises.
In view of the more or less production capacity relative to demand, the current task is to do our best to create a "new mechanism for capacity governance", and gradually form a new mechanism for the balance of supply and demand that is not only subject to environmental and energy efficiency, carbon emission policy constraints, but also industry self-discipline and supervision, which is in line with market laws and is conducive to guiding industrial transformation and upgrading and survival of the fittest.
For the outlook for the economy and the steel industry, Li Daokui, dean of the Institute of Chinese Economic Thought and Practice at Tsinghua University, said that 2024 is a year of recovery for economic growth, the overall international situation will improve, and the steel industry still has a lot of room for development driven by urbanization and the joint construction of the "Belt and Road". For new opportunities for the development of the steel industry, Liu Shijin, member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank and vice chairman of the China Development Research Association, said that at the domestic level, the second round of urbanization characterized by the development of small and medium-sized towns in the metropolitan area will expand the demand space for the steel industry, and the steady growth of investment in manufacturing and service industries will help to steadily improve the supply and demand of the steel industry. At the international level, the development of digital technologies such as low-carbon green transformation and generative artificial intelligence will drive the transformation and upgrading of the steel industry and strengthen its competitive advantage on a global scale.
Since its establishment 28 years ago, Lange Group has always been deeply involved in the whole industrial chain of the steel industry with the concept of scientific and technological innovation and service innovation. Liu Taoran, President of Lange Group, introduced the three major business segments of the group of "data, technology and trading" at the meeting. He said that in recent years, the group has successively launched innovative products such as "EBC Management System", "Steel Smart Strategy" and "Engineering Smart Mining" to help the high-quality development of the steel industry.
During the conference, the launch ceremony of "China Metal Materials Circulation Association & Lange Steel Network - Steel Circulation PMI Index" was also held.
Reporter Tang Li.