2025, WCA Chairman Wei Rushan made a keynote speech on the theme of "Peace, Rationality, Innovation and Responsibility". The full text is excerpted as follows.
Member representatives, ladies and gentlemen: Good morning!
I am very happy to participate in the WCA general meeting with you both online and offline. I
would like to take this opportunity to share with you a few points of view:
First, "peace" needs to return to
the world. The military conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has displaced more than 1.7 million people, has not yet come to a complete end. Over the past two years, the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has caused more than 500,000 military casualties, has continued. Recently, the India-Pakistan conflict has flared up again. In the same period, the tariff policy of the United States has brought great uncertainty to the stability of the world supply chain.
In 2024, the global cement output was 3.886 billion tons, down 4.31% year on year. Although China's output fell by 10.8% year-on-year, it still ranked first for 39 consecutive years with 1.825 billion tons of output. India ranked second with 433 million tons and Vietnam ranked third with 109 million tons.
The cement industry has always been closely related to wars, disasters and economic prosperity. Geopolitical wars and conflicts, as well as post-disaster reconstruction such as fires, earthquakes and wars, bring about the growth of cement demand and price under these special conditions, which can not support the long-term stable return and development of cement enterprises.
As the representative of the world cement industry, WCA appeals that the world needs the return of peace!
Second, "rationality" needs to return to
the current situation, and the world cement industry is being polarized. The new forces represented by China's Huaxin and Western Cement are stepping up the pace of overseas mergers and acquisitions. Taking Huaxin Cement as an example, by the end of 2025, overseas cement plants are expected to cover 16 countries, and overseas cement production capacity will reach 25 million tons. Its overseas production capacity is likely to reach more than 60 million tons in the next three years. As the second largest cement producer in the world, India is also actively integrating the industry and building new production capacity. India is moving towards an annual production capacity of 1 billion tons. In the same period, after nearly 10 years of strategic contraction characterized by the sale of cement assets in emerging countries, the old international enterprises represented by Holcim have begun to strengthen their attention and investment in developed countries such as the United States. At present, cement overcapacity is a long-term challenge in most countries and regions. It remains to be seen how the active international cement trade will be affected by the US tax policy. But it is believed that there will soon be fierce market competition around the United States, the world's most important importer of cement, as well as other post-war and post-disaster reconstruction regions.
In the context of drastic macroeconomic and geopolitical changes, the World Bank predicted at the beginning of the year that global economic growth would be 2.7% in 2025, the same as in 2024, but much lower than average level of 2010-2019 (3.1%). In the World Bank report, the key words of the global economy in 2025 are "fragile recovery" and "coexistence of risks".
Therefore, here, I also appeal: the cement industry needs a "rational" return!
3. "Innovation" is the magic weapon
for enterprises to survive in adversity. Under the increasingly complex and changeable geopolitical and macroeconomic situation, the cement industry is facing the uncertainty of market demand, the uncertain impact of tariff policy on international trade and supply chain as a whole, and the serious overcapacity in a wide range. The operating conditions of many cement enterprises have changed from the amount of profits to the crisis of life and death of enterprises. Faced with challenges, after rational thinking, we still need to find effective solutions through innovation and live towards death.
Under the increasingly severe challenges of the overall situation of the cement industry, cost reduction and efficiency enhancement, industrial upgrading, regional enterprise integration, technological innovation and business model innovation are still the eternal issues of the industry. After the successful consolidation of the cement industry in Japan in the 1980s, cement plants were used as environmentally friendly disposal plants for garbage and hazardous waste, with the production of cement as a by-product. In addition, China is formulating relevant application standards for Geopolymers and Alkaline Activators. Although this is not a new technology, the emergence of application standards is of great significance in the face of China's annual increase of 10 billion tons of bulk solid waste. After the application of related technologies and products, compared with traditional cement products, it can not only greatly reduce production costs, but also reduce carbon emissions by 50% -70%. The cement industry in
adversity needs to emancipate the mind and persist in innovation with more enterprising determination, which is the magic weapon for survival.
4. "Responsibility" is the cornerstone
of the healthy development of the industry. The sustainable development of the cement industry requires not only technological innovation, but also the comprehensive transformation of social responsibility and business model. The social responsibility of the cement industry has expanded from traditional environmental protection to multi-dimensional areas such as technological revolution, global fair transformation and community development, which need to seek a balance between community, employment, shareholder returns, environmental protection, capacity, technology, policy and regional development differences. It is undeniable that the cement industry is one of the main sources of atmospheric carbon emissions, and also consumes natural resources such as mines and coal. But at the same time, cement is also an irreplaceable material in the process of creating sustainable development and a better life of human society. Cement factories are also taking on more and more roles as "environmental purifiers" for garbage disposal and hazardous waste disposal worldwide. Many members
of WCA come from emerging countries, and most of them are the pillar enterprises of the host country. It is not only the responsibility of cement enterprises, but also the cornerstone of the healthy development of the cement industry to pay attention to technological innovation, social fairness and justice, strengthen localized cooperation and community integration in different forms, and let more stakeholders know, understand and support the cement industry.
Dear member representatives and colleagues, WCA has been established for 8 years. Along the way, the goal is clear, the will is firm, insists on independence and independence, and insists on serving members. The PEGASUS (i.e. Factory Assessment, Gap Analysis, and Support Services) program implemented by the professional committee
of WCA has completed the free assessment and diagnosis of more than 120 production lines of member enterprises since 2020. The production lines are distributed in 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Zambia, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, South Korea, China, India, Ireland and Cyprus. It has made practical contributions to practicing WCA's concept of "inclusiveness, openness, sharing and win-win" and serving its members. The reform of
the WCA organization continues. A new management team with more dedication, professionalism and service awareness will soon be on duty. The ability of WCA to serve members should be continuously improved and enhanced. We should listen more to the opinions and needs of members, cooperate with more professional organizations, and share the latest market information and technology with member enterprises. In the second half of today's general meeting, we invited Mr. Arnold and Mr. Yasin, the famous analysts of WCA's global strategic partner field company, to share their latest market research results with us.
Member representatives, cement is a traditional industry. In the new era of rapid development of AI technology, WCA must take the initiative to assume the expectations and historical responsibilities of its members. We should keep pace with the times to carry out ideological, organizational and service changes. We must be firm in our beliefs, adhere to principles and seek common ground while reserving differences! I firmly believe that with the concept of "inclusiveness, openness, sharing and win-win", we can gather more like-minded people in the industry and move forward hand in hand!
Thank you!
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