Industry and Information Technology held a press conference on the steady growth of the raw materials industry on August 25. Chang Guowu, Director of the Department of Raw Materials Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Xing Tao, Deputy Director of the Department of Raw Materials Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Cao Chuanzhen, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry of the National Development and Reform Commission, and Xiao Lu, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, attended the press conference. He introduced the work plan for the steady growth of four key raw material industries, namely, petrochemical industry, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals and building materials, and answered questions from reporters. The conference was presided over by Cheng Xiaoming, a first-level inspector (director level) of the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
First of all, I would like to invite Director Chang Guowu to introduce the general situation of the work programme.
Chang Guowu: Thank you, host! It is a great pleasure to share with you the work plan for the steady growth of the four key raw material industries, namely, petrochemical industry, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals and building materials.
We should also be aware that the pressure of steady growth of the raw material industry is still great. From the external perspective of the industry, the global economic growth continues to slow down, the domestic demand is still insufficient, and the pressure on resources and environment is increasing. From the perspective of the industry itself, the problem of excess traditional products still exists, the ability of independent innovation is still weak, and the task of transformation and upgrading is arduous.
In order to implement the decision-making and deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on steady growth, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, has formulated four work plans for steady growth of key raw material industries. The general idea is to take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as a guide, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, adhere to the general tone of steady progress, coordinate development and security, coordinate the expansion of domestic demand and deepen the structural reform of the supply side, coordinate the international and domestic markets and resources, strive to create a fair competitive market environment, and constantly stimulate the vitality of market players; Efforts should be made to consolidate the achievements of capacity reduction and maintain the dynamic balance between supply and demand; efforts should be made to expand effective supply and actively expand the application market; efforts should be made to accelerate technological transformation and promote green and intelligent transformation; efforts should be made to deepen open cooperation, promote a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win situation, and strive to achieve effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity, so as to provide strong support for the stable and healthy development of the national economy.
Next, we will work with relevant departments and industry organizations to strengthen work coordination, strengthen service guidance, and effectively organize and implement the work programme. It is believed that with the gradual emergence of the effects of a series of national macro-control policies and the joint efforts of all parties, the raw material industry will be able to achieve the expected goal of steady growth. That's all for
my brief introduction. Thank you! What measures will be taken to promote the steady economic growth of the petrochemical industry? Since
this year, the petrochemical industry has fully implemented the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, striving to stabilize production, optimize structure and promote transformation, and new production capacity of ethylene, propylene, paraxylene and other bulk products has been put into operation one after another. The development potential of new chemical materials and fine chemicals has been continuously released, and the three "growth" of output, added value and investment have been realized. First, the output has increased steadily. From January to July, the crude oil processing volume totaled 430 million tons, an increase of 10% over the same period last year. From January to July, the added value of the industry increased by 6.3% year-on-year, higher than industrial average. 2. Third, investment continued to grow substantially. Investment in the chemical manufacturing sector increased in the first half of the year. 13
. However, it should also be noted that the long-term contradictions and phased problems of the industry overlap, some operational indicators weaken, growth slows down, and stable recovery of both supply and demand sides still faces many challenges. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, has worked out the Work Programme for the Steady Growth of the Petrochemical Industry, focusing on the guiding opinions on the high-quality development of the petrochemical industry in the 14th Five-Year Plan and the objectives and tasks of the implementation plan for the carbon peak. Adhering to the problem orientation and based on the current problems of weak demand and tight factors, 11 specific measures are put forward from five aspects, namely, promoting investment, optimizing supply, stabilizing foreign trade, ensuring production and strengthening enterprises.
One is to promote investment. We will accelerate the demonstration and implementation of major petrochemical and modern coal chemical projects. We will promote the transformation of energy conservation, pollution reduction and carbon reduction and the comprehensive technological transformation of old devices, and carry out the industrialization demonstration of non-grain bio-based materials. Speed up the construction of intelligent factories and characteristic industrial Internet platform, and cultivate solution suppliers. Standardize the construction of chemical industry parks, carry out the expansion of parks in an orderly manner, and cultivate parks with competitive advantages. Second, excellent supply. Build a supply and demand platform, carry out brand promotion week and other activities to promote the increase of varieties, improve quality and create brand. Build a pilot platform, strengthen the upstream and downstream cooperation mechanism, carry out "one-stop" application demonstration, explore application scenarios, create industrial development ecology, and promote the industry to strengthen the foundation, supplement the chain, extend the chain and stabilize the chain. Third, stabilize foreign trade. We will promote technological transformation of wharfs with a large volume of chemical trade, strengthen the guarantee of major petrochemical projects with foreign investment, and promote a higher level of open cooperation. Fourth, ensure production. We will refine and implement the policy of excluding raw material energy from total energy consumption and intensity control, strengthen the supply of coal and gas for raw materials of key products such as chemical fertilizers, and ensure the smooth operation of production. Fifth, strong enterprises. Leading enterprises, as "chain owners", should be guided to strengthen the functions of technological innovation organizations and platform services, fully pool and give full play to the role of collaborative innovation of specialized, special and new small and medium-sized enterprises, stimulate the innovation vitality of various enterprises, deepen the integration and development, and jointly strengthen the market players with steady growth.
I will introduce these, thank you!
But at the same time, we should also see that the iron and steel industry is facing a new development environment, the steel market demand has fallen, and the production and operation of iron and steel enterprises are facing some difficulties. Changes in the external situation will cause fluctuations in industry growth, but also provide an important window and opportunity for industrial upgrading. Next, the National Development and Reform Commission will focus on the following aspects to continue to promote the high-quality development of the iron and steel industry.
(1) Actively promote the development of domestic mineral resources. The National Development and Reform Commission will continue to play a good role in the coordination mechanism of domestic iron ore development, encourage and support the construction of mineral resources development bases and mining projects, make every effort to coordinate and promote the solutio n of problems and difficulties encountered, actively promote the commissioning of construction projects, the expansion of production projects and the construction of new projects, and accelerate the release of domestic resources. A number of new domestic mineral resources supply capacity.
(2) Continuously enhance industrial concentration. The National Development and Reform Commission will adhere to the principles of marketization and legalization, implement relevant laws and standards on environmental protection, energy conservation and carbon reduction on the premise of respecting the dominant position of enterprises and guaranteeing their independent decision-making, accelerate the pace of mergers and reorganizations in the iron and steel industry, and create a number of specialized leading enterprises with obvious product advantages and strong self-development capabilities.
(3) Steadfastly promote green and low-carbon transformation. The National Development and Reform Commission will strictly manage projects in accordance with relevant policy requirements such as industry, environment and energy efficiency. In strict accordance with energy efficiency standards, enterprises should be promoted to implement green and low-carbon transformation and upgrading in an orderly manner. We will further focus on key links in the iron and steel industry, strengthen technological breakthroughs, build a green low-carbon technology system, guide enterprises to speed up the upgrading of advanced energy-saving technology and equipment, promote the demonstration and application of key energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies, and further enhance the green manufacturing level of the iron and steel industry.
I will introduce these, thank you! However, since the beginning of this year, the operation of the non-ferrous metal industry has faced many problems and challenges. What targeted measures will be taken to promote the steady growth of the non-ferrous metal industry.
Chang Guowu: Thank you for your question.
Non-ferrous metals have outstanding strategic value and wide application fields. They are not only the basic materials to support the development of construction, machinery, household appliances and other industries, but also the key materials to enhance the competitiveness of new energy, new generation of information technology and other emerging industries. Their development prospects are very broad. In recent years, the non-ferrous metal industry has shown a sustained and positive development trend, and has achieved remarkable results in structural adjustment, green transformation, innovation and development, making positive contributions to China's stable economic growth. From January to July this year, the industrial added value of non-ferrous metals industry increased by 5.9% year-on-year, higher than average level of industry. 2. However, in the process of development, there are still some problems, such as insufficient growth momentum in traditional consumption areas, reduced exports, and high dependence on some strategic minerals and high-end materials.
Next, we will put steady growth in a more prominent position and work hard to improve supply capacity, promote effective investment and expand consumption scale. First, we should strengthen the supply of important resources. To formulate implementation plans to promote the development of lithium and other resource industries, guide key areas to formulate resource industry planning and resource development project lists, strengthen factor guarantee and expected guidance, build upstream and downstream supply and demand docking platforms, and prevent large price fluctuations. The second is to support the development and application of key materials. For key areas such as aerospace, rail transit and medical equipment, we will support the development of high-end materials, encourage local governments to build pilot platforms in accordance with the characteristics of local industries, promote the application of new materials and new technologies, and strengthen the layout of research and development of cutting-edge materials. Third, we will intensify technological transformation. We will support enterprises to upgrade technology and equipment such as energy conservation, carbon reduction and intelligent manufacturing, accelerate the construction of green and low-carbon public service platforms, build a number of benchmarking enterprises, and promote the intelligent and green development of the industry. Fourth, actively expand the downstream market. Focusing on housing improvement, urban infrastructure, food packaging and other consumption upgrading needs, through building model projects, reducing production costs, and holding large-scale exhibitions, we will promote the steady growth of consumption of copper, aluminum and other non-ferrous metals. Focusing on new energy vehicles, photovoltaic and other emerging areas, we will strengthen upstream and downstream docking, constantly improve product standards and specifications, and accelerate the development and promotion of integrated die-casting body, magnesium alloy wheel hub, high-quality polysilicon and other products.
I will introduce these, thank you! What measures are proposed in the Plan to solve the problems encountered in the current economic operation?
The building materials industry is an important area for the smooth operation of the industrial economy. From January to July this year, the added value accounted for 4.6% of the industry, accounting for about 1% of the GDP. In the first half of this year, the overall growth rate of the building materials industry slowed down, the added value was lower than that of the industry and manufacturing industry, the operating income and profit declined, and the steady growth of the industry faced greater pressure. The current slowdown in the growth of the building materials industry is due to both insufficient downstream demand and insufficient adjustment of the industrial structure. At present, the growth of the building materials industry still mainly depends on traditional industries such as cement, and the business income of cement and cement products accounts for nearly 40% of the income of the building materials industry. The proportion of new industries such as inorganic non-metallic materials is still low. With the transformation of development mode and the upgrading of demand structure, the building materials industry has entered a new stage of development characterized by green and low carbon. The demand for traditional building materials such as cement has shown a steady and slow decline. The development of new building materials industries such as green building materials, mineral functional materials and inorganic non-metallic new materials has been accelerated, which is the inevitable trend of industry restructuring.
We should also see that the development and operation of the building materials industry in the first half of the year also showed many bright spots and growth points. First, the operation of the industry has steadily rebounded. The added value of the industry reversed the downward trend in 2022 and resumed the overall growth trend. The import and export volume of building materials was US $42.05 billion, an increase over the same period last year. 13 . Second, the industrial structure continued to optimize. Technical glass products manufacturing, glass fiber reinforced plastic products manufacturing, waterproof building materials manufacturing, lightweight building materials manufacturing and so on have maintained a good growth trend, with profits increasing by more than two digits year on year. Third, the rapid development of green building materials industry. With the in-depth development of green building materials activities in the countryside, the green building materials industry has entered the fast lane of development. From January to July this year, the business income of green building materials exceeded 120 billion yuan, an increase of more than 20% over the same period last year. The Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Construction, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Financial Supervision, jointly issued the Work Program for Steady Growth of Building Materials Industry, which put forward 10 specific measures from four aspects: investment, supply, consumption and international cooperation. First, expand effective investment and promote the transformation and upgrading of the industry. We will support industry-finance cooperation, accelerate the upgrading of high-end, intelligent and green building materials industries, and accelerate the construction of key projects such as new materials. The two is to enhance effective supply and stimulate new momentum of industry growth. Organize and carry out the "three products" action of building materials industry to increase varieties, improve quality and create brand, focus on promoting the upgrading of bulk products, focus on the demand of new energy and other fields, and enhance the supply capacity of new materials. Third, we should promote green building materials and cultivate the concept of green consumption. Deeply carry out the activities of green building materials going to the countryside, expand the popularization and application of green building materials in cities, promote the coordinated development of green building materials and green buildings, improve the certification system of green building materials products, cultivate the concept of green consumption, and enhance the level of green consumption. Fourth, deepen international cooperation to achieve a high level of mutual benefit and win-win results. Take advantage of the domestic super-large-scale market to attract foreign-funded enterprises with advanced technology to increase investment in new inorganic non-metallic materials in China. Give full play to the advantages of complete sets of technology, equipment, standards and engineering services in cement, glass and other industries, and promote green and low-carbon cooperation in the international building materials industry.
I will introduce these, thank you! Under the current situation, what measures will the Ministry of Commerce take to support the development of foreign trade in the non-ferrous metal industry?
First, adhere to the problem orientation and strengthen policy empowerment. In April this year, we submitted to the executive meeting of the State Council for deliberation and adoption of the Opinions on Promoting the Stable Scale and Excellent Structure of Foreign Trade, promulgated 18 policies and measures in five aspects, and launched a combination of policies. At present, we are paying close attention to the implementation of existing policies and giving full play to the effectiveness of policies. At the same time, we will focus on the difficulties of enterprises, the pain points of the industry and the blockages of development, study the reserve policy, and plan to introduce special policies and measures such as new energy automobile trade cooperation and improving the development level of processing trade.
The second is to give full play to the advantages of overseas channels and provide service guarantee. Regularly publish Foreign Trade Promotion Information and Country Trade Guide, collect information on overseas market supply and demand, major exhibition activities, contact information of foreign business associations and trade policy adjustment through embassies, consulates and business organizations stationed abroad, and regularly publish them on the website of the Ministry of Commerce. You are welcome to consult them at any time. We will intensify consultation and coordination and rely on mechanisms such as the Working Group on Unimpeded Bilateral Trade and the Joint Commission on Bilateral Economic and Trade to promote the resolution of specific difficulties encountered by Chinese enterprises in opening up international markets.
Third, expand the channel platform to promote the docking of supply and mining. In terms of offline exhibitions, we will organize important exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo, the Canton Fair and the Service Trade Fair, and support foreign trade enterprises to participate in overseas exhibitions. In terms of online platform, through the normal operation of the online platform of the Canton Fair, since August, more than 40 "Trade Bridge" supply and demand docking activities have been organized, focusing on different industry themes every month. Give full play to the role of new formats, guide and support enterprises to open up international markets through new formats such as cross-border e-commerce, market procurement and trade.
The four is to strengthen capacity building and facilitate cross-border exchanges. In terms of capacity building, we will focus on the new situation and new policies, organize a series of training on new formats, green low-carbon trade, free trade agreements and other industries, and focus on improving the ability of enterprises to carry out foreign trade. In terms of facilitating cross-border exchanges, we will continue to work closely with diplomatic and civil aviation departments to promote the resumption of flights by Chinese and foreign airlines, provide better entry and exit visa services, and facilitate cross-border exchanges for business people.
In accordance with the decision-making and deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the Ministry of Commerce will make greater efforts to help enterprises in non-ferrous metals and other industries to expand the market and stabilize orders, make every effort to promote the stable scale and structure of foreign trade, and make positive contributions to national economic growth.
I will introduce these, thank you! What policy support will be introduced next?
The iron and steel industry has a long industrial chain and covers a wide range of areas. The added value of 2022 accounts for 4.2023. From January to July, the industrial added value of the iron and steel industry increased by 6.6% year-on-year, 2.8 percentage points higher than average industrial level. The output of pig iron, crude steel and steel products in China is 530 million tons, 630 million tons and 790 million tons, respectively. At the same time, the steel consumption structure continued to optimize, the overall proportion of steel used in the construction industry decreased, the steel used in the steel structure and manufacturing industry increased significantly, and new energy, high-end equipment and other emerging industries led to the development of high-end steel. Generally speaking, China's iron and steel industry has shown strong development resilience.
However, we should also see that the iron and steel industry is still facing difficulties such as insufficient recovery of traditional market demand, increasing contradiction between supply and demand at different stages, and declining profitability of the industry. The foundation for recovery is not yet solid, and the task of maintaining stable operation of the industry and promoting high-quality development is still arduous and arduous.
The Plan focuses on both ends of supply and demand, adheres to the combination of optimizing supply and expanding demand, the combination of current and long-term perspectives, the combination of market dominance and government guidance, and implements the "Four Major Actions". First, we should implement technological innovation and transformation actions to stimulate new momentum for high-quality development. We will accelerate the upgrading of technical equipment, green low-carbon transformation and digital transformation, and support and guide the orderly development of EAF steel. We will increase support for pilot verification and industrialization of low-carbon generic technologies such as hydrogen metallurgy, and provide policy support for capacity replacement for low-carbon frontier technology demonstration projects. The second is to implement the action of upgrading steel consumption and focus on expanding steel demand. We will carry out upstream and downstream production and demand docking activities between iron and steel and key steel areas such as ships, construction, automobiles and agricultural machinery, and actively expand the application scenarios of iron and steel. Actively support enterprises to integrate into the global industrial chain and supply chain, and guide steel products, equipment, technology, services and other collaborative "going out". The three is to implement the supply capacity improvement action to ensure the stable and efficient operation of the industry. On the one hand, we will further promote the "three products" action of raw materials. Establish and improve the upstream and downstream cooperation mechanism of new iron and steel materials in key areas, formulate quality grading standards for iron and steel products, and promote the acceptance and application of quality grading evaluation results. On the other hand, improve the support capacity of iron resources. We will accelerate the start-up and production expansion of key domestic iron ore projects to ensure the normal production of compliant mining enterprises. Strengthen the recycling and utilization of scrap steel resources, and further improve the construction of scrap steel recycling, processing and distribution system. We will promote the import of recycled iron and steel raw materials and high-quality coking coal resources. The four is to implement the action of cultivating leading enterprises and improve the concentration of iron and steel industry. Iron and steel enterprises are encouraged to implement mergers and reorganizations. For iron and steel enterprises that have completed substantive mergers and reorganizations, we will study and give greater policy support for capacity replacement. To study and formulate classified management measures for iron and steel enterprises, and guide the development of factor resources to high-quality enterprises. Support places where conditions permit to focus on the development of advanced manufacturing clusters in the field of iron and steel, and optimize the industrial development ecology.
I will introduce these, thank you! Thank you for your concern, concern and support for the petrochemical industry.
Petrochemical industry is an important component of China's manufacturing industry, which provides support and service guarantee for all sectors of the national economy and plays an important role in the national economic and social development pattern. The Work Program for Steady Growth of the Petrochemical Industry has put forward a series of major work initiatives. The National Development and Reform Commission will, in accordance with the division of functions, focus on promoting the construction of major projects, accelerating energy-saving and carbon-reducing transformation, and promoting high-end development, so as to continuously promote the petrochemical industry to achieve higher quality and steady growth.
(1) Promoting the construction of major petrochemical projects. We should firmly grasp the "bullnose" of investment, give full play to the leading role of investment and leading projects, further increase the guarantee of land and energy resources for projects in line with the national layout plan, accelerate the construction of major petrochemical projects, promote industrial integration and cluster development, and constantly enhance the core of petrochemical industry. Steady growth and high quality development.
(Two) accelerate the implementation of energy saving and carbon reduction transformation. In accordance with the relevant work arrangements of energy-saving and carbon-reducing policies such as "Several Opinions on Strict Energy Efficiency Constraints to Promote Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in Key Areas" issued by our committee and relevant departments, we should give full play to the incentive and restraint roles of energy efficiency standards, green electricity prices, energy-saving supervision, finance and other policies, and promote petrochemical enterprises to increase energy-saving and carbon-reducing transformation. We will accelerate the research and development of green low-carbon technologies and the popularization and application of advanced and mature technologies, continuously improve the supply of green petrochemical products, meet the needs of domestic investment and consumption upgrading, and promote the formation of a strong domestic market.
(3) Promoting high-end industrial development. We will further focus on the weak links in petrochemical technology and the development direction of large-scale and high-end equipment, encourage and guide enterprises to intensify innovation, actively promote the development and application of key core technology and equipment, accelerate the promotion of new chemical materials "from scratch", "from good to good", "from good to excellent", and promote the development of new chemical materials. We will accelerate the cultivation of a number of "big country heavy equipment" in the field of petrochemical equipment, accelerate the high-end, characteristic and refined development of the petrochemical industry, continuously enhance the new momentum of the development of the petrochemical industry, and promote the sustained, stable and healthy development of the industry. I will introduce these, thank you!
Green building materials refer to high-quality building materials products with the characteristics of "energy saving, emission reduction, low carbon, safety, convenience and recyclability". In 2022, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Areas, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Market Supervision and the State Rural Revitalization Bureau jointly launched the activities of green building materials going to the countryside. Up to now, we have approved 12 pilot areas such as Zhejiang and Shandong, encouraged places where conditions permit to promote green consumption through consumption vouchers, encouraged key enterprises to provide products with higher cost performance, encouraged e-commerce platforms to set up green building materials product zones, and effectively promoted the development of green building materials production, certification, circulation, application and service industry chain. According to preliminary statistics, from January to July 2023, the business income of green building materials and the sales of e-commerce platforms increased by more than 20% year on year, 4400 certified enterprises were included in the scope of activities, and 7698 certificates of green building materials products were issued, which increased by 1.6 times and 1 times respectively compared with the same period last year.
We are working with relevant departments to formulate the Action Plan for the High Quality Development of Green Building Materials Industry. It is proposed to guide and support industrial development from three aspects. One is to promote industrial transformation. Accelerate the development of assembly, component and functional green building materials products suitable for different application scenarios, and develop new green building materials products. In areas with good development foundation, relying on superior enterprises, making full use of local resources, developing green building materials according to local conditions, and creating a number of green building materials production clusters. The second is to speed up the application expansion. Promote the coordinated development of green building materials and green buildings, and accelerate the popularization and application of green building materials in government projects. We will continue to carry out green building materials activities in the countryside, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties, strengthen the linkage between upstream and downstream, and improve the convenience and selectivity of rural consumption. We will support typical demonstrations of the application of green building materials in rural areas, and encourage the transformation of farm houses and agricultural infrastructure to take the lead in using green building materials. Third, optimize the industrial ecology. We will improve the standard system for green building materials, promote the formulation and revision of evaluation standards for green building materials, accelerate the certification of green building materials products, and promote the interconnection of certification data for green building materials products with relevant acceptance and application databases. Increase publicity and promotion, cultivate the concept of green consumption of the masses, and improve the consumption level of green building materials.
I will introduce these, thank you! This is the end of today's press conference. Thank you.
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