Regional collaboration, policy empowerment, and market resilience are jointly building a core raw material security system for Made in China.

Amidst profound adjustments in the global economic landscape and the accelerated green transformation of industry, the iron ore industry has transcended traditional raw material supply to become a key sector impacting national industrial competitiveness and the stability of the global supply chain. As the world's largest iron ore consumer and steel producer, my country is advancing its iron ore industry towards a higher-quality, more sustainable ecosystem through deepening regional collaboration, targeted policy empowerment, and fostering market resilience, thereby strengthening the security of core raw materials for Made in China.
Regional collaboration is a key path to optimizing the iron ore supply landscape. Domestically, steel industry clusters such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Bohai Rim have established cross-regional iron ore resource allocation mechanisms to achieve efficient integration between mining, logistics, and steel production. For example, Hebei and Shandong are jointly developing low-grade iron ore, increasing resource utilization to over 75%. Internationally, my country's iron ore cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative continues to deepen. Construction of an iron ore deep processing park in Indonesia is steadily progressing, and iron ore projects in countries like Guinea and South Africa are accelerating. This is gradually forming a global strategy of "diversified supply, local processing," mitigating the risks associated with fluctuations in a single market.

Policy empowerment provides strong support for the upgrading of the iron ore industry. In recent years, my country has successively issued policies such as the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Iron Ore Industry." These policies, on the one hand, have increased support for the research and development of smart mines and green mineral processing technologies, driving the digital transformation coverage rate of domestic mines to over 60%. On the other hand, they have improved the iron ore futures market and expanded the scale of iron ore swap trading, with trading volume projected to increase by 18% year-on-year in the first half of 2024. This has helped companies better navigate price fluctuations and enhance their resilience to market risks. Furthermore, updates to the inspection standards for imported iron ore have further standardized market order and ensured the quality and safety of raw materials.

Fostering market resilience is key to the sustainable development of the iron ore industry. Faced with challenges such as volatile global iron ore prices and high energy costs, domestic steel companies have actively adjusted their raw material mix and promoted scrap steel substitution technologies. The proportion of iron ore purchased by small and medium-sized steel companies has decreased by over 10%. Trading companies have also innovated a procurement model combining "long-term contracts with spot trading" to enhance supply chain flexibility. Furthermore, global iron ore giants have signed long-term supply agreements with Chinese companies, and companies such as Baowu and Ansteel have continued to release production capacity from their overseas iron ore projects, providing a solid foundation for market stability.​
In the future, as the global division of labor continues to deepen and green and low-carbon concepts become more widely adopted, the iron ore industry will need to continuously strengthen the synergistic effects of regional coordination, policy guidance, and market regulation. While ensuring resource security, it will also promote the industry's transformation toward low-carbon, high-end, and intelligent manufacturing, injecting lasting momentum into the high-quality development of China's manufacturing industry.