[SMM Steel Market Morning News] China's Continuous Investment in Central Asia Exceeds 30 Billion

★Macro★

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China's Investment in Central Asian Countries Continues to Increase, Exceeding $30 Billion in Total

In recent years, China has continuously increased its investment in green development, the digital economy, and other fields in Central Asian countries. As of now, China's cumulative investment in Central Asian countries has exceeded $30 billion. China is a major source of investment for Central Asian countries. In recent years, China has accelerated cooperation with Central Asian countries in areas such as 5G, the Internet of Things, and smart cities, implementing multiple clean energy projects including wind, solar, hydro, and energy storage, and promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. Meanwhile, China is a major partner in the contracted engineering sector for Central Asian countries. As of April 2025, China had signed contracted engineering contracts worth $120.1 billion with Central Asian countries and completed a turnover of $75.6 billion. Economic and trade cooperation continues to deepen. China has signed new investment agreements with Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and initiated negotiations on a service trade and investment agreement with Kyrgyzstan, providing institutional guarantees for trade and investment cooperation between China and Central Asian countries.

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Trump: US to Temporarily Suspend Sanctions on Russia

On the 16th local time, US President Trump stated that the US would temporarily suspend sanctions on Russia in hopes of reaching an agreement. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova said on the 16th that, at the US's proposal, a new round of bilateral consultations between Russia and the US aimed at eliminating "irritants" in bilateral relations and normalizing the activities of diplomatic missions had been canceled. She expressed hope that this "pause" would not last too long.

★Industry and Downstream Sectors★

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[SMM Electric Furnace Operating Rate]

According to the SMM survey, as of June 17th, the operating rate of 50 electric furnace steel mills mainly producing construction materials nationwide was 30.98%, down 3.66% MoM from the previous period; the capacity utilization rate was 34.06%, down 3.08% MoM; the daily average production of construction materials was 75,900 mt, down 6,900 mt MoM.

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SMM Shenyang HRC Inventory

This week, the HRC inventory in Shenyang was 175,000 mt, up 5,000 mt WoW (+2.94%) and down 32,500 mt YoY (-15.66%).

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Quzhou, Zhejiang: Introduces Subsidies for Improved Housing Purchases for Families with Multiple Children, Up to 200,000 Yuan Available

On June 16th, the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Finance Bureau, and Health Commission of Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province jointly issued the "Notice on Several Measures to Further Promote the Steady and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market," which mentions the introduction of subsidies for improved housing purchases for families with multiple children. Starting from June 20, 2025, multi-child families purchasing newly-built commercial residential properties in urban areas (projects that received their first pre-sale permits since 2021) are eligible for subsidies for improved housing purchases. Specifically, families with two children who have signed a "Zhejiang Province Commercial Housing Sales Contract" for a residential property with a floor area of 100 m² or more can apply for a subsidy of 80,000 yuan. Families with three children who have signed a "Zhejiang Province Commercial Housing Sales Contract" for a residential property with a floor area of 120 m² or more can apply for a subsidy of 200,000 yuan.

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Shanghai's Fixed Asset Investment Grew 6.2% YoY in the First Five Months

According to data released by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics on June 17, from January to May this year, Shanghai's total fixed asset investment in society increased by 6.2% compared to the same period last year. Among the three major investment sectors, urban infrastructure investment increased by 19.1% YoY; industrial investment increased by 18.7%; and real estate development investment increased by 4.0%. In terms of investment in Shanghai's three major industries, investment in the primary industry increased by 38.0% YoY; investment in the secondary industry increased by 18.5%; and investment in the tertiary industry increased by 3.7%.

★Other Hot Topics★

⭕[China's National Meteorological Center Issues Blue Alert for Rainstorms]At 06:00 on June 17, China's National Meteorological Center continued to issue a blue alert for rainstorms: It is expected that from 08:00 on June 17 to 08:00 on June 18, parts of Guangdong, central and southern Guangxi, and the northwestern Sichuan Basin will experience heavy to torrential rain. Specifically, parts of central and southwestern Guangdong's coastal areas, southeastern Guangxi's coastal areas, and the northwestern Sichuan Basin will experience extremely heavy rain, with extremely heavy rainfall in localized areas along the southwestern Guangdong coast (250-400 mm). Some of the aforementioned areas will be accompanied by short-term heavy rainfall (maximum hourly rainfall of 20-50 mm, with localized areas exceeding 70 mm), and localized areas will experience severe convective weather such as thunderstorms and gales.

⭕[SAFE: Banks Settled RMB 1,386.1 Billion and Sold RMB 1,305.1 Billion in Foreign Exchange in May]Statistics from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) show that in May 2025, banks settled RMB 1,386.1 billion in foreign exchange and sold RMB 1,305.1 billion. From January to May 2025, banks settled a cumulative RMB 6,723.5 billion and sold a cumulative RMB 7,086.7 billion in foreign exchange. In US dollar terms, in May 2025, banks settled $192.7 billion and sold $181.4 billion in foreign exchange. From January to May 2025, banks settled a cumulative $935.6 billion and sold a cumulative $986.2 billion in foreign exchange.