What role does China play in the international steel market?

China plays a vital role in the international steel market, which is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Major producer and consumer: China is the world’s largest steel producer and has been the world’s largest steel producer for 27 consecutive years, with huge steel production capacity and output. At the same time, China is also a major steel consumer. Domestic infrastructure construction, machinery manufacturing, automobile industry, home appliances and other industries have huge demand for steel, and changes in demand have an important impact on the balance of supply and demand in the global steel market.
Important exporter: China’s steel exports account for a large proportion of the world, with a total export of 70.575 million tons of steel in the first eight months of 2024. Despite the challenges of trade protectionism, such as the long-term implementation of anti-dumping measures by the United States, Chinese steel companies still occupy an important position in the global steel trade by adjusting their export structure and shifting more resources to regional markets with growing infrastructure investment such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Leader of technological innovation: In terms of green and low-carbon transformation, China’s steel industry is at the forefront of the world. For example, Wuhan Iron and Steel’s silicon steel technology is world-leading. Baowu Steel Group has taken the lead in formulating the Chinese version of the “low-carbon emission steel” standard and is committed to promoting the mutual recognition of this standard with other well-known international standards, providing important support for the global low-carbon steel evaluation system. In other areas of steel production technology, China also has newer and stronger technical reserves, and is good at using different methods to develop new technologies and find new solutions. Focusing on low-carbon steelmaking, it will provide nearly half of the effective solutions for the global steel industry.
Promoter of industrial cooperation: China actively participates in international steel industry cooperation. Through the “Belt and Road” initiative, it has invested in and built steel projects in Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and other countries to help develop the local steel industry and drive local economic development and employment. At the same time, Chinese steel companies have also carried out extensive technical exchanges and cooperation with steel companies and related institutions in various countries around the world to promote the common development of the global steel industry.
Market price influencer: China’s steel production and consumption are huge, and its procurement and sales behavior in the international steel market has an important impact on the price of the global steel market. Changes in supply and demand in the Chinese market, policy adjustments and other factors will cause fluctuations in international steel market prices. In addition, China also has strong bargaining power in the import of steel raw materials such as iron ore, which plays an important role in the price trend of the global iron ore market.