China issues action plan to promote steady growth in the steel industry

Five Departments Including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Issue Document to Promote Steady Growth in the Steel Industry

To implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and promote the stable operation and structural optimization and upgrading of the steel industry, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with four other departments including the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, recently jointly issued the "Steel Industry Steady Growth Work Plan (2025–2026)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Work Plan").

The Work Plan sets the overall goals for 2025–2026: an average annual increase of about 4% in the added value of the steel industry, stable and rebounding economic benefits, a more balanced market supply and demand, a more optimized industrial structure, continuously enhanced effective supply capacity, and significantly improved levels of green, low-carbon, and digital development. The Work Plan outlines work measures in five areas.

• First, strengthen industry management. By linking the implementation of capacity reduction and replacement, production regulation, and implementing classified management in the steel industry, further control incremental capacity, optimize existing capacity, force the exit of backward and inefficient capacity, support the development of advantageous enterprises, and promote supply-demand balance and survival of the fittest in the industry.
• Second, enhance industrial technological innovation. By increasing the supply capacity of high-end products, focus on addressing weaknesses and deficiencies; promote the quality upgrade of bulk products and stabilize the supply of raw materials and fuels, further enhancing the resilience and security level of the industry chain and supply chain.
• Third, expand effective investment. By accelerating the updating and transformation of processes and equipment, digital transformation, and green and low-carbon transformation, promote the large-scale transformation of main equipment, the application of advanced electric furnaces, special smelting, and other high-end equipment, the transition from long processes to short processes, and the application of digital, intelligent technologies, and advanced green, low-carbon processes to promote industry transformation and upgrading.
• Fourth, expand market demand. Expand the application of steel structures in construction, transportation, infrastructure, and other fields to stimulate and release consumption potential.
• Fifth, deepen open cooperation. Stabilize the foreign trade market and improve the level of international development.

Next, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work with relevant departments to strengthen policy promotion and interpretation, organize relevant regions and enterprises to implement tasks, promote the stable operation of the steel industry, and accelerate structural optimization and upgrading.

Steel Industry Stable Growth Work Plan

(2025-2026)

The steel industry is a crucial foundational and pillar sector of the national economy, playing a significant role in ensuring stable industrial growth and smooth economic operation. Currently, the steel industry faces an oversupply, insufficient effective demand, and a supply-demand imbalance, which are the primary contradictions affecting the quality and efficiency of the industry's development. To implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and promote the steady operation and structural optimization and upgrading of the steel industry, this work plan was formulated.

I. General Requirements

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, adhering to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, focusing on quality and efficiency, strengthening the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, emphasizing coordinated efforts from both the supply and demand sides, enhancing the adaptability of supply and demand, strictly prohibiting new capacity and controlling total production through output reduction, optimizing supply through R&D of high-end special steels and quality upgrades of bulk products, expanding demand through increased applications in construction and transportation, and promoting transformation through digital and green renovations, accelerating the replacement of old growth drivers with new ones, cultivating new quality productive forces based on local conditions, further improving the resilience and security level of the industry chain and supply chain, achieving effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity.

II. Main Objectives

From 2025 to 2026, the steel industry's added value will grow at an average annual rate of around 4%, with economic benefits rebounding, market supply and demand becoming more balanced, industrial structure further optimized, effective supply capacity continuously strengthened, and the levels of green, low-carbon, and digital development significantly improved.

III. Work Measures

(I) Strengthening Industry Management and Promoting Survival of the Fittest

1. Implementing Precise Regulation of Capacity and Production. Revise and issue the implementation measures for capacity replacement in the steel industry, intensify efforts in capacity reduction and replacement, and provide differentiated reduction and replacement ratio support for projects aligned with industrial development directions, such as the development of electric furnace steel, hydrogen metallurgy, and other low-carbon ironmaking processes, as well as mergers and reorganizations, and high-end special steel, to promote industrial reduction and transformation and upgrading. Strengthen policy coordination in capacity replacement, project filing, environmental impact assessment, pollutant discharge permits, industrial product production permits, and energy assessment. Support the reduction and relocation of steel capacity from key air pollution prevention and control regions to regions outside. Continue to implement production reduction policies, carry out annual production regulation tasks based on the principle of supporting advanced enterprise development and forcing the exit of backward and inefficient capacity, and promote a dynamic supply-demand balance.

2. Promoting Graded and Classified Management of Steel Enterprises. Implement the "Steel Industry Standard Conditions (2025 Edition)," comprehensively carry out classification and evaluation of steel enterprises, and implement three-tier management based on leading standard enterprises, standard enterprises, and enterprises that do not meet standard conditions. Strengthen the coordination of graded management of standard enterprises with industrial policies, production regulation, fiscal and tax policies, and financial policies, guide the aggregation of resource elements to advantageous enterprises, and cultivate several leading standard enterprises.

(II) Strengthening Industrial Technological Innovation and Enhancing Effective Supply Capacity

3. Enhancing the Supply Capacity of High-End Products. Focus on key steels required in fields such as high-end equipment and core basic parts, including high-performance bearing steel, gear steel, high-temperature alloys, and tool and die steel, and organize steel enterprises to jointly carry out industry chain collaborative research with upstream and downstream enterprises, universities, and research institutes. Continue to leverage the role of key platforms for new materials such as ships and offshore engineering, and ultra-supercritical materials, and accelerate product application verification and iterative upgrading. Implement the "Guidelines for the Construction of Pilot Platforms for New Materials," and support local governments and enterprises in building pilot platforms for high-end special steel, hydrogen metallurgy, and others.

4. Promote Quality Upgrading of Bulk Products. In response to the upgrading needs of major steel-consuming industries such as automobiles, machinery, shipbuilding, and home appliances, research and improve product and application standards, and collaborate with downstream industries to advance product application upgrades. Accelerate the improvement of green and low-carbon product standards, promote the certification of green and low-carbon steel products, and support qualified regions in promoting the application of green and low-carbon steel in key projects and major engineering works. Implement quality and safety traceability for steel products subject to production licenses, such as rebar.

5. Stabilise Raw Material Supply. Accelerate the commencement, operation, capacity expansion, and production increase of key domestic iron ore projects. Support compliant miners in normal production, avoiding one-size-fits-all industry rectification measures. Strengthen efforts to ensure supply and stabilise prices of raw materials such as iron ore and coking coal, and support steel enterprises in signing long-term agreements with coking coal and coking enterprises. Encourage the import of high-quality coking coal resources and high-quality recycled steel resources. In regions with concentrated steel scrap resources, develop integrated bases for steel scrap recycling, processing, distribution, and smelting.

(III) Expand Effective Investment and Promote Transformation and Upgrading

6. Advance Process Equipment Upgrades. Implement the "Guidelines for Equipment Renewal and Technological Transformation in Key Industrial Sectors," accelerate the upgrading of restricted equipment such as blast furnaces, converters, electric furnaces, stamp-charged coke ovens, top-charged coke ovens, and sintering machines, as well as the renewal of aging equipment that has reached the end of its first campaign life, and promote the large-scale transformation of main equipment. Promote the application of advanced electric furnaces, special smelting, and other high-end equipment. Support qualified regions in phasing out long processes based on blast furnace-converter routes and developing short processes based on electric furnaces.

7. Accelerate Digital Transformation. Implement the "Implementation Guidelines for Digital Transformation in the Steel Industry," research and formulate standards for assessing the level of digital transformation in the steel industry, conduct diagnostic evaluations of digital transformation, and cultivate typical scenarios, benchmark factories, and benchmark enterprises for digital transformation. Promote the development of "artificial intelligence + steel industry," support leading enterprises, research institutes, and universities in establishing data resource nodes and building high-quality datasets; accelerate the intelligent adaptability transformation of process equipment, and advance the application of general vertical large models and scenario-specific small models driven by application scenarios, with general large models as the foundation and metallurgical mechanisms as the basis. Accelerate the promotion of industrial operating system updates and replacements for key enterprises in the steel industry.

8. Promote Green and Low-Carbon Transformation. Advance the implementation of the "Opinions on Promoting Ultra-Low Emissions in the Steel Industry," with the goal of fully completing ultra-low emission transformation tasks by the end of 2025. Support steel enterprises in implementing energy efficiency improvement upgrades and promoting clean energy substitution. Promote research on synergistic technology pathways for pollution reduction and carbon reduction in the steel industry. Support breakthroughs in low-carbon common technologies such as hydrogen metallurgy, and accelerate the pilot validation and industrialisation of integrated process technologies and equipment for green electricity, green hydrogen, and pure hydrogen metallurgy. Encourage industry enterprises to establish a number of digital energy and carbon management centers. Accelerate the development of a carbon footprint accounting standard system for steel products, strengthen carbon measurement management, improve the quality of carbon accounting data, and ensure the smooth execution of quota trading and settlement after inclusion in the national carbon emissions trading market.

（IV）Expand Consumer Demand and Stimulate Market Consumption Potential

9. Explore Steel Application Demand. Deepen upstream and downstream cooperation between the steel industry and key steel-consuming sectors such as shipbuilding, signing long-term stable cooperation agreements to jointly maintain the stability of the industry chain. Actively promote the application of steel structures in residential buildings, public buildings, and small- to medium-span bridges, and support industry associations in establishing a full industry chain cooperation mechanism involving upstream and downstream enterprises such as steel production, steel structure processing, component manufacturing, architectural design, construction, and installation decoration. Encourage qualified regions to cultivate a number of steel structure building industrial parks and digital supply chain trading service platforms for steel, components, and parts.

（V）Deepen Open Cooperation and Enhance International Development Level

10. Promote International Development. Implement the requirements of the "Announcement on Optimizing Services and Standardizing Management for Exports of Goods Subject to Domestic Taxes." Strengthen the management of steel product exports and maintain export competition order. Carry out the definition of high-tech content steel products and optimize the export product structure of the steel industry. Promote the formation of mutually recognized product standards and carbon footprint accounting systems. Support enterprises in adhering to international trade rules and conducting steel product international trade in accordance with laws and regulations, integrating into the international supply chain system, and enhancing international competitiveness. Strengthen industrial cooperation with countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, guiding the coordinated overseas expansion of steel products, equipment, technology, and services.

IV. Support Measures

(i) Strengthen organizational support. Localities should, based on their actual conditions, prioritize stabilizing growth in the steel industry, refine work measures, and promote task implementation. Major steel-producing provinces should take the lead in accelerating industrial optimization and upgrading. Industry associations should actively prevent vicious competition, organize enterprises to correctly understand and accurately grasp the development situation of the industry, and strictly implement national policies on capacity and production control; focusing on key products and key areas, guide enterprises to gradually establish self-discipline mechanisms, and strive to create a market environment characterized by law-abiding, fair competition; strengthen policy interpretation, and promptly reflect new situations, new problems, and countermeasures and suggestions.

(ii) Enhance policy support. Utilize special relending for scientific and technological innovation and technical transformation, ultra-long-term special treasury bonds, and other policies to focus on supporting the steel industry's synergistic efficiency improvement in pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction, digital transformation, and comprehensive utilization of resources. Implement the "reverse invoicing" policy for steel scrap recycling, promoting the standardized and healthy development of the steel scrap recycling industry. Guide financial institutions to, according to the principles of marketization, legalization, and selective support, comprehensively use various financial tools to provide high-quality financial services to steel enterprises. Increase efforts in talent cultivation, focusing on R&D and innovation in new materials and processes as well as the needs of digital transformation, nurturing a batch of high-end compound talents.

(iii) Intensify monitoring and scheduling. Conduct regular operational monitoring, periodically convene industry analysis and operation meetings, make judgments on emerging and trending issues, and timely grasp the pain points, difficulties, and bottlenecks in industry development, helping enterprises overcome difficulties. Improve the early warning mechanism for the capacity of key products, and promptly issue warning information for industries at risk of surplus, guiding market expectations.