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Chinas steel production In a bleak forecast, Baowu said that the steel market is facing a steeper downturn than in 2015 with no end or bottom in sight.
The latest crisis, which has also been fueled by rising global inflation and geopolitical risks, has exacerbated deep-seated problems within China's steel industry, with experts saying it faces structural challenges caused by oversupply.
China's current steel production capacity is 1.2 billion ton a year, with annual consumption hovering around 1 billion tons. About 95% of China's steel output is consumed domestically, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).
"The contradiction between steel supply and consumption will be a long-term issue," said He Wenbo, executive chairman of CISA. As China's urbanization and industrialization advances, the overall demand for steel will gradually decline, said He.
This problem has long been in the making. China's steel industry has expanded rapidly for more than two decades as the economy racked up double-digit growth rates. The country has remained the world's largest steel producer since 1996, with production reaching a record of 1.07 billion tons in 2020.
It is also the world's No.1 steel consumer, accounting for more than half of the global total.
But the glory days are over, with industry analysts saying China's demand for steel has peaked and is heading into a decline, forcing the industry to adjust.