"China's steel industry, with its strong strength, has become a key driving force for global steel technology progress. Although we are in a special period of development and facing many difficulties and challenges, with our own capabilities and a huge consumer market, we are fully capable of overcoming difficulties and jointly welcoming a new era of steel development." On November 25th, the 19th China Steel Industry Chain Market Summit was held in Beijing, He Wenbo, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Chairman of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, shared his thoughts on the transformation of the steel industry.

China's steel development faces three challenges

In the view of He Wenbo, the current development environment of China's steel industry faces at least three challenges: first, market pressure. The market environment has changed. The steel industry in developed countries has gone through such a stage several decades ago and has basically adapted. However, our way of thinking has not truly jumped out of the environment of continuous market expansion, and the concentration of China's steel industry is still significantly low. This "one soft and one hard" has formed constraints on the efficient operation and high-quality development of China's steel and iron industry; The second is environmental pressure. The environmental requirements have changed. The global steel industry, including China, is vigorously promoting low-carbon transformation, but China's steel industry is simultaneously implementing the dual tasks of reducing pollution and carbon emissions; The third is cost pressure. The competitive foundation has changed. Although China's steel industry continues to improve efficiency and costs through continuous reform and transformation, the gradual increase in labor and environmental costs is an inevitable trend. The era of relying on costs to dominate the world has passed.

In the face of challenges, there is only one path to take: innovation. "Innovation is not easy, but there is no other choice. It requires not only technological and management innovation, but also institutional and governance innovation, which is a challenge for both enterprise management and government industrial governance." He Wenbo emphasized.

"Although facing the above challenges, China's vast market foundation and the upgrading of demand in downstream new fields, as well as the comprehensive improvement of the environment, have built a new development foundation for the development of steel industry. The talent pool accumulated in the long-term high-speed development of the steel industry are all solid foundations and reliable guarantees for us to overcome difficulties and respond to challenges." He Wenbo said.

The transformation of the steel industry is essentially a green transformation

"The three major processes of urbanization, marketization, and internationalization have achieved the world status of China's steel industry. The two major constraints of resources and environment have forced China's steel industry to undergo rapid transformation." He Wenbo shared his three understandings of the overall transformation of China's steel industry.

The transformation of the steel industry is essentially a green transformation. "This is determined by the fundamental role of steel in the national economic system and the high energy carrying characteristics of the industry itself." He Wenbo said that the green and low-carbon nature of steel runs through and covers the entire process and industry, and steel is used everywhere. If steel is not transformed, it will be difficult to achieve green and low-carbon development in the entire industrial system.

The fundamental issue of green and low-carbon transformation is at what cost to achieve the transformation goals. "The degree of achieving carbon neutrality in steel is also determined by the affordability of costs. The vitality and acceptance of various low-carbon technologies by the industry depend on the balance between technological and economic feasibility. How to achieve the green transformation of the steel industry while effectively fulfilling its mission and continuously maintaining and enhancing its competitiveness is a major issue that we must face." He Wenbo said.

The green transformation of the steel industry is a systematic and social engineering, not just a matter for the steel industry itself. He Wenbo proposed to plan a comprehensive transformation plan that can comprehensively support industrial transformation and effectively support the achievement of national climate goals based on the existing policy framework.