Ding Liguo: Embrace The New Changes, And Promote The High-quality Development Of Private Steel

On November 23, the second council meeting of the All-Union Metallurgical Chamber of Commerce in 2021 and the exchange meeting for the high-quality development of the private steel economy was held in Beijing. At the meeting, the third rotating chairman of the All-Union Metallurgical Chamber of Commerce, Ding Liguo, Chairman of Delong and Xintian Steel Group made speeches on the development status and characteristics of private steel enterprises, the opportunities and challenges they face, and the work to be carried out in the next step.

Ding Liguo reviewed the important achievements since the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce. For example, the number of enterprises with a steel output of more than 3 million tons has grown from 39 to 58; The sales revenue of steel enterprises in 2020 will increase by 13% year-on-year; mergers and acquisitions, technological innovation, and green development have all made significant progress. "The private steel industry can have such an organization, it is hard-won, and we must cherish it." Ding Liguo said.

"In the first year of the '14th Five-Year Plan', as the implementation of policies such as the'dual control' of production capacity and output, the dual control of energy consumption and the'dual carbon' (carbon peak and carbon neutral) policies has increased, we ushered in a new Faced with new challenges in the development stage of China, the private steel industry must focus on building a new development pattern." Ding Liguo said.

Private steel companies are striding towards high-quality development

Ding Liguo said that thanks to the country's reform and opening up, China's private steel industry has grown from scratch, from small to large, and has now developed into an industrial cluster that has attracted worldwide attention, which has strongly supported the rapid development of my country's economy. At the same time, private steel also reversed people's prejudice against private steel companies, established industry benchmarks in many fields, led the healthy development of the industry, and gained dignity with practical actions.

Ding Liguo summarized the six characteristics of the development of private steel enterprises.

One is to have firm political beliefs. Private steel companies always adhere to the leadership of party building and assume the mission of private steel companies in the new era. A number of typical demonstration companies have emerged in party building activities, such as Shagang, Sanbao, Jinxi, Zhongtian, Xintian Steel, etc., and continue to promote the high quality of the steel industry develop.

The second is to bravely shoulder the mission of industrial concentration. Ding Liguo pointed out that after the integration and reorganization of private steel enterprises in recent years, many large and medium-sized enterprises have been established. "In the regulated steel companies announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, private steel companies account for two-thirds; private steel companies account for more than 60% of the country's output. In 2020, they will produce 666 million tons of steel, accounting for 63.21% of the national steel output of 1.065 billion tons. ." He said, citing data.

The third is to take up the responsibility of green development. Private steel companies closely follow the requirements of the national industrial policy, actively eliminate outdated production capacity, resolve excess production capacity, and increase investment in energy conservation, environmental protection and green development. Among the 72 green factories selected by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 40 are private steel companies. Two steel companies producing Xingtai Delong and Longmen Steel have been rated as national 4A tourist attractions. Shanxi Jianlong, Shaanxi Iron and Steel, Han Steel, and Jiujiang Iron and Steel More than 10 steel companies, including Ping'an Iron and Steel, were rated as national 3A tourist attractions, and Xingtai Delong and Yutian Jinzhou were also rated as environmental performance A-level enterprises.

The fourth is the spirit of innovation that has the courage to pioneer. Private steel companies continue to adopt new technologies, continuously improve the level of process equipment, and thoroughly practice technological progress and innovation.

Fifth, it has the courage to take the lead in going out. "The steel industry has developed into a global industry. Private steel companies took the lead in responding to the'One Belt One Road' initiative to deliver the most advanced steel equipment and technology to overseas markets. This is the general trend." Ding Liguo emphasized, Qingshan Holdings, Jingye, and Jianlong Under the guidance of the "One Belt One Road" initiative, other private enterprises have gradually entered the international market.

Sixth, shoulder a strong social mission. "Only entrepreneurs who sincerely return to the society and fulfill their social responsibilities can truly be recognized by society and are entrepreneurs that meet the requirements of the times." Ding Liguo requires that private steel companies pay attention to social contributions and responsibilities, pay taxes in accordance with the law, and expand employment. , Alleviate the poor and help the poor, and benefit one party.

Do a good job in the industry around six aspects

Ding Liguo pointed out that it is necessary to conscientiously summarize the development experience of private steel since the reform and opening up, analyze the new tasks under the new situation, study the trend of the steel industry, and comprehensively promote it in accordance with the requirements of grasping the new development stage, implementing new development concepts, and building a new development pattern High-quality development.

In the first half of this year, private steel has maintained a stable and positive production and operation situation. Regarding the development situation and challenges in the second half of the year, Ding Liguo believes: "In the second half of the year, my country’s economy will continue to develop steadily and positively. A large amount of steel is still needed for domestic and foreign infrastructure investment and steel industrial product export growth, and the improvement in steel supply and demand will continue. . But with the policy constraints of emission reduction and carbon reduction, the development of private steel is facing challenges."

On the one hand, the demand for steel has increased. "The steel industry is one of the core industries for sustainable economic development. As major economies gradually overcome the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the economy gradually recovers, and the global'steel demand' gradually improves." Ding Liguo pointed out.

Statistics show that in the first 10 months of this year, my country exported 57.518 million tons of steel products, a year-on-year increase of 29.5%. "The current global steel market is booming, and the domestic demand and export of steel are increasing. This is caused by the fact that the demand for domestic infrastructure projects and machinery manufacturing projects has not decreased, and the international demand has increased significantly." Ding Liguo said.

On the other hand, development faces challenges. Ding Liguo pointed out that there are three main challenges.

First of all, the contradiction between the “dual control” of steel production capacity and output and strong demand has brought challenges to the development of the industry. At the beginning of this year, the state put forward the goal of controlling crude steel production. In the first half of the year, the export tax rebate for most steel products was cancelled. It also issued more stringent implementation measures for steel capacity replacement and project filing management opinions, and carried out in-depth environmental inspections and capacity reductions. Look". The implementation of energy "dual control" in many provinces is aimed at the steel industry.

"China is the world's largest steel producer and consumer. With the advancement of industrialization and urbanization, steel consumption will remain at a relatively high level." Ding Liguo said, according to World Steel Association statistics, the world's apparent consumption of finished steel in 2020 Reached 1.772 billion tons, and the per capita steel consumption reached 227 kg. Among them, China's apparent consumption is 995 million tons, and per capita steel consumption is 691 kg. The contradiction between reduced production and strong demand has brought challenges to the development of the industry.

Secondly, imported iron ore is subject to high prices and prices of other raw materials such as coke have generally risen, posing challenges to the profitability of steel companies.

* Later, the investment in environmental protection is huge, and the environmental protection operating cost per ton of steel is 200 to 280 yuan (the environmental protection operating cost of Delong Steel has reached more than 300 yuan), but the environmental protection standards are still being further improved, which also brings challenges to the development of iron and steel enterprises .

The next step will focus on 6 aspects to do a good job in the industry

Ding Liguo pointed out that in order to promote the healthy and high-quality development of private steel, the All-Union Metallurgical Chamber of Commerce has recently conducted a lot of research work on the production and operation of the enterprise, problems, demands, and industry development trends. In the next stage, the industry will focus on the following aspects.

One is to maintain smooth operation. Ding Liguo pointed out that private steel companies must clearly understand the situation, improve their political positions, be prepared for danger in times of peace, be alert to the complexity and severity of the world situation and the risks posed by the epidemic, and concentrate on managing their own affairs; continue to consolidate the results of supply-side structural reforms and continue Implement the “dual control” policy of output and production capacity, strengthen industry self-discipline, and promote the industry to gradually establish an inventory restriction mechanism based on carbon emissions, total energy consumption, and pollutant emissions; it is necessary to closely track market changes, optimize structure, and reduce costs. Efforts to maintain the stability of the steel market and production and operation; improve the adaptability of the supply and demand of steel products, and establish a new balance between market supply and demand.

The second is to adhere to green and low-carbon development. Ding Liguo believes that under the background of "dual carbon", the steel industry must further innovate the industrial structure, change the energy supply mode, and explore the path of low-carbon development in multiple dimensions. First, apply low-carbon metallurgical technology to create a development environment for the use of extreme energy efficiency; second, increase the development of domestic scrap steel and recycled steel raw materials import channels, and increase the proportion of scrap steel; third, promote digital and intelligent carbon control and construction Carbon emission management platform, applying big data to "dual carbon" work; fourth, continue to promote hydrogen metallurgy, CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) and other technologies in the enterprise, continue to build hydrogen energy metallurgy, hydrogen energy transportation and scenery Integrated power supply architecture system, shifting from traditional energy consumption to low-carbon comprehensive energy consumption development; fifth, continue to improve the corporate carbon sink capacity and environmental performance of A-class companies in the country, and simultaneously increase the proportion of green power consumption, etc., and take multiple measures to achieve "Zero-carbon" development; Sixth, to promote industry-university-research projects, to accelerate the development and application of energy-saving, emission-reduction and carbon-reduction technologies such as smart production and power saving; Seventh, to actively reach a strategic partnership for carbon sink resource development and build a carbon market. Develop rural carbon sequestration products to realize the local green water and green mountains, and create a new path for rural revitalization.

The third is to ensure the safety of iron ore resources. Ding Liguo encourages enterprises to develop overseas equity mines and increase foreign mining channels; at the same time, increase investment in domestic iron ore, strengthen environmental protection, and safe mining to stabilize the supply of internal ore; promote centralized procurement and strengthen import iron ore trade negotiations The right to speak; promote the improvement and improvement of the recycling, processing, distribution and circulation system of scrap iron and steel resources, strengthen the reuse of scrap iron and steel, and realize the stable supply of iron-containing raw materials.

The fourth is to strengthen technological innovation. Develop and produce common technologies for smelting and rolling of high-quality steel, promote the design of green steel products, and promote the combination of production and demand for high-efficiency steel; guide the upgrading of the downstream steel industry, and promote the application of high-quality, high-strength, long-life, and recyclable steel products. Reduce steel consumption; increase coordinated research efforts to jointly promote major breakthroughs in key core technologies, processes and equipment, and solve the problem of "stuck neck".

Fifth, mergers and reorganizations increase industrial concentration. “The industry concentration of the top two steel companies in South Korea and the top three steel companies in Japan are all over 80%; the concentration levels of the top three steel companies in the United States, Russia and Europe are all over 50%, while the concentration levels of the top three steel companies in my country are not "To 20%." Ding Liguo said, "In order to increase industrial concentration, state-owned enterprises are taking active actions, and private steel companies must not be left behind and continue to do a good job in mergers and reorganizations." Ding Liguo suggested that private steel companies should explore and improve. The Northwest United Iron and Steel model actively participates in the mixed reform of state-owned enterprises, cultivates internationally competitive iron and steel enterprise groups, and further enhances the international influence, competitiveness and market voice of my country's steel industry.

The sixth is to strengthen international cooperation. In the future, we must continue to maintain and expand the scope, participate in the construction of the “Belt and Road”, and build world-leading steel plants abroad; steel and upstream and downstream companies must organize groups to conduct resources, energy, electricity, steel, and building materials in countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”. , Logistics and other related industries supporting construction. At the same time, it is necessary to actively carry out international exchanges and cooperation, increase the import of (energy storage) semi-manufactured products and resource products, and reduce the export of low value-added products (ordinary steel, coke). "Under the new dual-cycle development pattern, private steel companies must further utilize their advantages in foreign investment and foreign trade to enhance their international competitiveness." Ding Liguo said.

At the chamber of commerce level, Ding Liguo emphasized that it is necessary to strengthen party building work, strengthen learning and capacity improvement, improve service levels, and play a greater role. It is necessary to make persistent efforts to create a new situation in work, promote the chamber of commerce from 3A to 4A, and strive to become a first-class chamber of commerce. .

One is to find out the "family status" and consolidate the basic work. It is mainly to find out how many private steel companies there are, what is the equipment production capacity, and what is the specific output. The second is to have a sense of service and improve service quality. It is necessary to further unblock the communication channels with various government departments, truthfully report the actual problems and common problems existing in the industry and enterprises to the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and make good use of proposals to better serve the industry. develop. The third is to have a sense of unity and expand the membership team. It is not only necessary to unite more private steel companies to join the Chamber of Commerce, but also to strengthen the connection with the steel upstream and downstream industrial chain, continue to expand the membership team, and adjust to the chairman unit. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with enterprises, research institutes, and schools, and strive for greater support from all parties. The fourth is to do a good job in the application and promotion of practical technology. It is necessary to cooperate with China Iron and Steel Industry Association, China Metals Society, Central Iron and Steel Research Institute, and major metallurgical institutions such as Beijing University of Science and Technology and Northeastern University to establish a practical technology application promotion committee, grasp practical technology projects, and make great efforts to in-depth and systematically Advance this work. The fifth is to do a good job of training, especially the training of second-generation successors. Sixth, it is necessary to strengthen publicity and enhance the confidence of private steel enterprises in long-term stability. Seven is to respond to the call and steadily promote common prosperity. The eighth is to strengthen the organization and construction of chambers of commerce.

"The Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Party has comprehensively summarized the major achievements and historical experience of the party's centuries of struggle. Private steel companies must increase their confidence, use their own good market adjustment capabilities and policy adaptation capabilities, seize opportunities, and operate stably. Strive to promote high-quality development." Ding Liguo places hope on the development of private steel enterprises.