On April 26, the China Iron and Steel Industry Association held a symposium on the economic operation of some iron and steel enterprises in the first quarter in Beijing. Steel Association Party Committee standing Committee, Vice president Tang Zujun attended the meeting and made a concluding speech, Steel Association deputy secretary General and director of the industrial operation Department Chen Yuqian presided over the meeting.

From China Baowu, Angang Group and other 18 steel companies responsible person exchanged the first quarter of this year, the production and operation of enterprises, discussed the current problems and challenges faced by the industry, analyzed the next development trend, put forward many constructive opinions and suggestions.

Judging from the discussion, in the first quarter of this year, the benefits of iron and steel enterprises generally declined significantly, and some even suffered substantial losses, and the operating pressure increased. In the face of the severe market situation, Baowu, Angang, Shougang, Hesteel, Shagang and other participating enterprises said in their speeches that after the Steel Association issued the "Proposal", the enterprises responded positively, emphasizing that they should fully understand the severity of the "three high and three low" operation situation of the steel industry, and strive to self-discipline control production and reduce inventory by resolutely practicing the operating principle of "three set and three do not". We will improve the quality and efficiency of our operations.

For the future market, it is generally believed that the adjustment of the steel industry in this round is completely different from the cyclical adjustment in the previous incremental case, and it will be a long period of reduction adjustment process, and the strong demand for weak steel supply in China will exist for a long time, and it is necessary to be prepared for a "tight day" for a long time. At the same time, it is recommended to introduce production control policies as soon as possible, strengthen industry self-discipline, establish a new mechanism for capacity management, increase policy support for green and low-carbon transformation, curb the irrational rise in the price of raw materials such as imported iron ore, and jointly maintain the stable, healthy and orderly operation of the steel industry.

In view of the current operation of the industry and the problems that enterprises are concerned about, Tang Zujun talked about three points in the summary:

First, assess the situation, follow the rules, and achieve a high level of dynamic balance between supply and demand. He pointed out that in the past two years, the steel industry has encountered severe challenges, and the time and potential have undergone very big changes. From the perspective of time, China's economy has entered a new stage of development, from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development. Times have changed, and so has the tide. Potential is the formation of a strong steel production capacity, while the market demand has undergone a fundamental change, the former is mainly real estate, infrastructure construction, plant and equipment transformation and other investment to support, the future to rely on consumption and innovation-oriented strategic emerging industries, future industries to pull. The era of large-scale construction in China has passed, and the urbanization rate of China reached almost 66% last year; At the same time, the industrial system has been basically improved and has entered a new industrialization period.

Tang Zujun believes that the biggest problem now is how to achieve a dynamic balance between supply and demand. If this problem is not handled well, it will have a very big impact on the ecology, sustainable development and international competitiveness of the entire industry. "It's like when there are more seedlings in a field, no one can grow well, but now who to pull out is really a problem." 'he said graphically.

He pointed out that it is easier to go up than down. Iron and steel industry up the process after more than 70 years, although some fluctuations, but generally relatively stable; The downhill process should be more difficult, we should be prepared, do not appear cliff descent, hope to go more stable. "Of course, it is difficult for enterprises to solve this problem alone. We need to bring into play both the role of the government and the market. We need to bring into play the decisive role of the market in allocating resources, and we need to better play the role of the government in establishing exit channels, and we need to have policies to support exit, so as to prevent dramatic fluctuations." "He stressed.

Second, we need to strengthen confidence and act along the trend to achieve high-quality development in transformation and upgrading. As a basic industry, the iron and steel industry has made important contributions to the development of the national economy, the improvement of the national comprehensive strength and the construction of national defense, and can be said to be the backbone of steel. "Without the steel industry, China would not be what it is today. Without the steel industry, China can not become a manufacturing power. There is no substitute for steel in the foreseeable future." Tang Zujun said, "From the future trend and the requirements of the central government, the steel industry is not optional, but promising, but the requirements are higher, the task is heavier, there is a long way to go, both slim and healthy, but also to transform and upgrade."

In response to the current difficulties, he said, we should take advantage of the situation, not passively accept, complain and escape, but take the initiative to recognize changes and respond according to the rules. Not all the waiting can usher in spring flowers. Only determined to slim down and healthy body, take the initiative to remove some backward production capacity that is no longer needed in the market, and enterprises have reasonable profits, can they have vitality, innovation, competitiveness, and sustainable development ability. The transformation and upgrading of the steel industry is imperative and imminent. The major direction and goal is high-end, green, intelligent. Among them, high-end is about core competitiveness, green is about future survival, and intelligence is about whether we can keep up with the pace of The Times.

Tang Zujun believes that through this adjustment period, but also to carry out transformation and upgrading, will not be easy. We should not be too optimistic, nor too pessimistic, we need to respond objectively and rationally. There will be a price, more hope. "The fundamentals of China's economy are still good, the long-term trend has not changed, and new growth momentum is gathering momentum." As long as there is confidence, all parties work together, and through adjustment and transformation, the steel industry will be more vibrant and more internationally competitive." He pointed out.

Third, strengthen self-discipline, prevent risks, and achieve steady and orderly development.

Tang Zujun said that the steel association attaches great importance to the self-discipline of the industry, issued a proposal at the end of March, "recognize the situation to maintain concentration and jointly maintain the stable and orderly development of the steel industry", and then organized expert analysis, "China Metallurgical News" published commentator articles and a series of activities, in the industry to promote unity of thought, build consensus, has achieved phased results. Steel inventories began to decline, and steel prices began to stabilize and rebound.

"Self-discipline is the only way to achieve stability." He again stressed the importance of self-discipline. He also gave a vivid analogy: "Self-discipline is like the brake system of a car, when you go up the hill, you have to pump the door, when you go down the hill, you have to step on the brake, if you don't step on the brake, there will be a big problem."

Tang Zujun said that we advocate the organization of production and operation activities in accordance with the principle of "three sets and three do not", which is the basic operating principle of enterprises and the basic way of self-discipline. We support strengthening regional self-discipline and variety self-discipline to control the pace of production and promote a dynamic balance between supply and demand. It is hoped that leading enterprises should stand at the height of the high-quality development of the industry, lead by example, take the lead in strengthening self-discipline, and promote the stable, healthy and orderly development of the industry.

Tang Zujun also stressed the need to prevent risks, especially to prevent strategic risks, operational risks, financial risks and so on. 'Strategic risk is the biggest risk for a business,' he said. At present, the steel circuit is too crowded, if there is no technical advantage, there is no cost advantage, you need to consider another track. There is already an excess of stock, which will be exacerbated by incremental reinvestment or capacity replacement.