China’s CY’22 steel demand to remain same as last year: CISA

Steel demand in the world’s largest steel producing country, China, in CY’22 is expected to remain similar to levels seen in CY’21, He Wenbo, Executive Chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said during a video conference with the World Steel Association’s Director General, Edwin Basson.

The two parties discussed the the steel industry scenario in China and the world, the key targets of the industry in 2022, and the futureplans of the two associations.

He Wenbo pointed out that in 2021, the Chinese steel industry managed to maintain a balance in supply and demand, improving the overall efficiency. In addition, the country took another step towards low-carbon steel production by sticking to its steel output target for CY’21.

Wenbo is confident that China’s steel market is adaptable to the changes that future developments will bring about.

He also listed the areas that CISA will be focusing on in the coming years:

1) Enhancing flexibility in the steel supply system with the goal of balancing supply and demand.
2) Producing green and low-carbon steel, effectively introducing technologies through research and development.
3) Strengthening policy coordination and upstream-downstream cooperation so that various resource development plans can be implemented.
4) Promoting cross-industry cooperation focusing on construction steel, and prefabricated steel structures to further expand steel application areas.
5) Improving communication methods to further improve the perceptions about the steel industry.

SA’s Basson said steel is one of the few industries that has successfully overcome the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. China has made positive contributions to the stable development of the global steel industry.

He further said, in the past two years, all major economies have taken measures to stimulate economic development and upgraded infrastructure which boosted demand for steel. In future, the development focus of the world’s iron and steel industry will be on producing green and low-carbon steel.