From July 11th to 12th, 2025, the "MySteel" Mid-Year Conference and the Forum on High-Quality Development of the Steel Industry Chain through Synergistic Innovation was held in Beijing.
Cai Jin, President of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, Jia Yinsong, Secretary-General of the All-China Federation of Metallurgical Industry Chambers of Commerce, Chen Guangling, General Manager of Youfa Group, and Gao Bo, Co-Chairman and President of Shanghai Steel United, delivered speeches. Yu Jianduo, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Development Research Foundation; Wang Yingsheng, Vice President of the China Iron and Steel Association; Li Yongjun, Chief Analyst of the China Iron and Steel Association and Party Secretary and Director of the Research Center for Economic Development of the Metallurgical Industry; and Wang Jianhua, Chief Analyst of Steel at Shanghai Steel United, presented keynote reports. Fan Tiejun, Deputy Director of China Metallurgical News, and other leaders attended the meeting. Ren Zhuqian, Vice President of Shanghai Steel United, presided over the meeting.
In his speech, Cai Jin stated that the infrastructure renovation and upgrading in developed countries, the large-scale fixed asset investment in Southeast Asian countries, and the initial development of infrastructure construction in third-world countries, all these will present opportunities for China's steel industry to "go global". Steel enterprises should have an international perspective and seize the new opportunities in industrial development.
Jia Yingsong believes that the current steel industry in China is facing three challenges: Firstly, there is a coexistence of shrinking traditional demand and growth in demand for high-end steel; Secondly, the international environment is constantly changing, and the "tariff war" and "trade war" in the United States have brought significant impacts on the global market order; Thirdly, the marginal benefits of ultra-low emission renovations are decreasing, and the double pressure of cost and environmental protection is forcing the industry to accelerate its transformation.
Chen Guangling stated that in the current market environment, the isolated efforts of individual nodes within the industrial chain no longer meet the needs of industry development. Only through joint and coordinated efforts can one break through the predicament.
Gao Bo stated that data has gradually become an indispensable core force in enterprises' business decision-making. Currently, industry participants need to rely on data and analysis, innovation and technological power more than ever before to drive the industry's development.
Yu Jiantu put forward suggestions for industry development: First, attach importance to three external constraints: changes in demand structure, the trend towards low-carbon and green development, and geopolitical risks; second, combine administrative guidance with industry self-discipline to promote capacity management; third, not only have an input-output matrix, but also have an industrial risk matrix management; fourth, alleviate the pain during industry mergers and market liquidation processes; fifth, grasp the rhythm of low-carbon transformation and technological upgrading; sixth, make good use of ESG tools to manage the risks of overseas capacity exports.
Wang Yingsheng analyzed the impact of the US tariff policy on various industries. From the perspective of direct exports, the impact on the direct export of Chinese steel products to the US is relatively limited. Considering that the US is also an important importer of steel and a significant exporter of steel to China, the imposition of tariffs by the US poses a potential threat to the total volume of China's steel exports. From the perspective of indirect exports, it may have certain effects on China's steel production and consumption.
Li Yongjun believes that the key to judging an industry cycle is not production volume, but demand. In modernized countries, the per capita consumption of crude steel remains at around 500 kilograms as the norm. However, in China, the per capita consumption of crude steel has been above 500 kilograms for only 10 years, and there is still room for growth in the future.
Wang Jianhua believes that it is highly likely that the supply constraints in the steel market will intensify in the second half of this year. In his view, there will be a rebound opportunity for steel prices in the second half of the year due to reasonable production control measures, as well as considering the continuous strengthening of macro favorable policies, etc.
The meeting also held the signing ceremony for the strategic cooperation between Youfa Group and Shanghai Steel, as well as the launch ceremony of the "Taizhou Yingsheng International Trade Logistics Park Price Index" project. Under the joint witness of Wang Yingsheng, Jia Yingsong, Fan Tiejun, Bi Aihua, the general manager of Tangshan Yingsheng International Trade Logistics Development Co., Ltd., and Xia Xiaokun, the co-president of Shanghai Steel Link, the "Taizhou Yingsheng International Trade Logistics Park Price Index" project was officially launched.
The conference featured 6 concurrent forums, 2 thematic training sessions, and 5 industry summits. The topics covered included steel raw materials, ferroalloys, construction steel, special steel, etc., as well as scrap car recycling and dismantling in the northern region, and the international steel market.
From the China Iron and Steel Association