China's steel industry shifts from scale expansion to high-end, smart, green upgrade

Shanghai, September 21 (Xinhua) — Reporter Wang Yueyang — China's steel industry has largely moved away from its extensive expansion model and is now entering a comprehensive new stage of upgrading toward high-end, intelligent, and green development, according to insights shared at the 15th China International Steel Congress.

Jiang Wei, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), stated at the conference that the industry is driving a systemic transformation through integrated innovation, achieving all-around changes in production capacity, equipment, product offerings, and green transition.

High-End Supply

• The steel industry has strengthened innovation and optimized product variety.
• Multiple steel products used in automobiles, marine engineering, nuclear power, and new energy sectors have achieved global firsts or replaced imports.
• Steel used in manufacturing has surpassed that used in construction.
• Production of high value-added steel plates and stainless steel has grown significantly, aligning product supply with industrial upgrading needs.

Intelligent Manufacturing

• The industry has moved away from the traditional experience-driven model of scale expansion.
• Digital technologies, the Industrial Internet, and AI large models are now being used to enable smart steelmaking.
• The application of "AI + Steel" scenarios is being widely promoted.
• Digital standards systems are being built and improved to enhance efficiency and production precision.

Green Transformation

• China is implementing the world's largest and most stringent ultra-low emission transformation.
• During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, over 80% of crude steel production capacity has achieved ultra-low emissions.
• A number of low-carbon metallurgy demonstration projects, including hydrogen-based shaft furnaces and near-zero-carbon plants, have been launched.
• Multiple batches of low-carbon emission steel products have been released, continuously strengthening the foundation for low-carbon transformation.

"Looking at the broader industrial cycle, China's steel industry is transitioning from scale expansion to quality competition," Jiang Wei said. He emphasized that the key to achieving quality upgrading lies in technological progress, driven by comprehensive integrated innovation and systemic change.

Outlook for the "15th Five-Year Plan" Period

During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the steel industry will focus on:

• Comprehensively improving the foundational capabilities of the industry and the modernization of its supply chain.
• Advancing green and low-carbon transformation and intelligent manufacturing.
• Controlling capacity expansion, promoting industrial consolidation, and ensuring resource security.
• Accelerating the internationalization of the steel industry.

Liu Jian, President of CISA, stated that the association will deepen capacity governance and implement key projects, including:

• A quality and product innovation project.
• An energy efficiency and carbon reduction project.
• A digital and intelligent transformation project.

The industry will also expand diversified application scenarios for steel products, strengthen talent development, and enhance association building. Efforts will be made to improve standards and inspection systems, cultivate brands for low-carbon emission steel and high-end specialty steel, and promote the industry's transformation from "selling steel" to becoming a comprehensive solution provider offering "materials, technology, services, and green brands." At the same time, the industry will collaborate with downstream sectors to tackle "bottleneck" specialty materials, build shared interest communities, and resist vicious competition.