Cement Character Series: Taking Charge of Centennial Huaxin, Bringing China's Cement to the World — — Li Yeqing

Cement is a great cause, carrying the people's yearning for a better life, and laying a solid foundation for economic and social development. Over the past decades, China's cement industry has been developing continuously and making great progress, realizing the technological leap from shaft kiln to new dry process, completing the transformation from following to leading in the world, and becoming a basic industry with great international competitiveness in China. In the course of the vigorous development of the cement industry, a large number of dedicated outstanding figures have emerged, who have profoundly reshaped the development pattern of China's cement industry and injected strong impetus into the iterative upgrading of the industry. In the near future, China Cement Network will review the industry figures who have made outstanding contributions to China's cement industry from a third-party perspective.

Today, we bring Li Yeqing, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Huaxin Building Materials Group Co., Ltd.

In 1984, Li Yeqing graduated from Wuhan Institute of Building Materials and stayed in the Silicon Engineering Department of Wuhan University of Technology as a teacher and deputy secretary of the Youth League Committee. More than three years later, he made a decision that was not common in those days: in November 1987, he resigned from the university faculty. Entering the " by the Huangshi River, Huaxin was still famous at that time, but its foundation was already very weak: By the end of the 1980s, 70% of the plant's equipment was in extended service. Original value of fixed assets 1.

Li Yeqing started from the most detailed places: the quality control engineer of the central laboratory, the deputy director of the limestone mine, the deputy director of the expansion and reform office, and the director of the production technology department. Looking back on this experience many years later, his expression was very plain-cement equipment, cement production technology, including design parameters, he had a thorough understanding. In January 1993, when he was less than 29 years old, he became the deputy director of Huaxin Cement Plant, the youngest factory leader in China's building materials industry at that time.

In the same year, Huaxin completed its shareholding reform. In January 1994, 36 million a shares of the company were listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with the code of 600801. In December of the same year, Huaxin issued 87 million B shares, becoming the first listed company in China's cement industry to own both a and B shares.

According to the review of Huaxin's official website, Does the No.4 kiln (with a daily output of 2000 tons of cement

Li Yeqing's judgment at that time was to increase the price. He suggested to the decision-makers that it would cost 2 billion yuan to build such a production line in the same period, while Huaxin had only 700 million yuan in loan space. His method is to get rid of the "middleman", lead the system integration by the enterprise, and finally use 800 million yuan to make this line. In February

1999, the No.5 kiln with a daily output of 4000 tons of cement clinker was ignited and put into operation, creating the shortest construction period and the most economical investment in the same industry in China, and was praised as a model project by the State Bureau of Building Materials. Before No.5 kiln was put into operation, Huaxin's production scale ranked 18th in the country; after it was put into operation, its annual production scale reached 3.5 million tons, becoming the first single plant in the country at that time.

It was also before and after the production of this line that Li Yeqing, 35, took over as general manager of the company in December 1999 and Secretary of the Party Committee of the company two years later. Huaxin's "Li Yeqing era" began with a crisis of blood loss.

2003, Huaxin used its own core technological advantages to invest in the construction of the first complete set of cement production line in the field-Yichang production line with a daily output of 3500 tons, which was put into operation and achieved results in the same year. In the same year, in response to the call of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government to broaden the channels of counterpart assistance to Xizang, Huaxin invested and built factories in Xizang, creating a well-known "Huaxin Model" from "blood transfusion" to "hematopoiesis". Li Yeqing's determination of the nature of this matter is very direct: The main purpose of investing and building factories in Xizang is to support the development of Xizang, and its positioning is that its political significance is greater than its economic significance. For this project, he led a team to Xizang three times before and after the investigation, and finally selected Sangri County in Shannan area, and the project was officially started in July 2004. On May 20,

2005, Huaxin No.1, No.2 and No.3 wet process kilns were retired and shut down forever. Since then, Huaxin has resisted the temptation of the real estate craze and insisted on expanding outward with the goal of expanding and strengthening its main business: building new projects in Yangxin, Wuxue, Xiangyang, Chibi and other places in Hubei Province, as well as in Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangsu, Henan, Guangdong and other provinces. In less than ten years, the production capacity of Huaxin Cement has exceeded 50 million tons, jumping to the forefront of the industry.

, Huaxin bought foreign equipment with an investment of more than 20,000 US dollars per ton of equipment. In No.5 kiln, the enterprise switched to the "a la carte" approach, with Huaxin leading the system integration, and the investment per ton of imported equipment dropped to about $10000-but it was still very expensive. Why can't we develop our own domestic equipment? Over the next few years, the technical barriers of large-scale rotary kilns, ball mills, vertical roller mills, high-efficiency powder concentrators, grate coolers and other large-scale equipment have been broken through one by one. On February 25,

2005, the world's largest air-swept raw material mill, designed and manufactured by Li Yeqing and R & D personnel completely relying on their own strength, was officially installed in the cement clinker production line of Huaxin Wuxue Cement Co., Ltd. with a daily output of 6000 tons. Through production practice, the raw mill with a diameter of 6 meters, a length of 12 meters and a weight of 487 tons has the characteristics of high operation rate, low energy consumption, few faults and large production capacity. At the same time, a Φ5M × 15M cement mill and two powder separators were delivered for use, which were also the highest in China.

As a result, Huaxin became the only enterprise in the domestic industry that could independently design, manufacture and install a complete set of main equipment for the largest 10,000-ton cement dry process production line in China at that time; it enjoyed more than 30 patents for cement kilns, mills, grate coolers and other series of technologies; and it was in the leading position in the world in terms of large-scale ball mill, vertical roller mill, high-efficiency powder concentrator and grate cooler manufacturing technology. These not only show that Huaxin has mastered the core technological advantages of its leading peers, but also make the company rank among the first-class machinery manufacturing enterprises in China besides cement manufacturing. The

equipment can be made by itself, and the more difficult step is to make the cement itself a target that others can't do. As the main supplier of low-heat cement for Baihetan Hydropower Station on Jinsha River, Huaxin has supplied 1.78 million tons of low-heat cement, accounting for more than 60% of the total use of low-heat cement in the construction of the project; In July 2025, the hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River started, and Huaxin has exclusively supplied more than 2 million tons of cement for the construction of the power station in the upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River.

few years, the development of cement in China has not decreased." However, the management of Huaxin has keenly predicted the huge risks brought by overcapacity and began to plan ahead to "go out". On August 29, 2013, Huaxin Yawan Company's annual production line of 1.2 million tons of cement was completed and put into operation in Yawan City, Tajikistan, which is the first factory invested and operated by China's cement industry abroad. In September 2014, witnessed by the main leaders of the two countries, Li Yeqing signed a reinvestment agreement with representatives of the Tajik government. The

follow-up action has a bigger turning point.In 2015, China's economic development entered a new normal, and cement entered the stage of absolute overcapacity. Li Yeqing saw the "opportunity" from the "crisis" and decided to acquire the assets of Lafarge China. Huaxin Cement's production capacity exceeded 100 million tons in one step, and all the investment was recovered in just over two years. At the same time, he promoted the "integration" strategy, gradually forming a "3 + 3" pattern of cement, aggregate and concrete business performance, environmental protection and new materials business to build a "moat". From 2000 to 2021, Huaxin's main business indicators achieved a compound annual growth of 24%. When interviewed by the media during the

third "the Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum, Li Yeqing described the position of Huaxin as follows: "As the most modern cement enterprise in China, we have the ability to build, operate and manage, and upgrade. In the process of building and developing a Belt and Road country, we can spread China's technology, products, management and influence to the world. At the same conference, Huaxin signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Natal Cement Company, a subsidiary of InterCement in Brazil, and its business radiated to South Africa and Mozambique. Marco, the representative of InterCement, gave a very real reason at the scene: "We chose Huaxin Cement because they have experts in the cement industry.". They are the most internationalized Chinese cement enterprises.

," Huaxin has made a complete set of cement kiln co-processing technology and equipment with international advanced level and independent intellectual property rights, and won the second prize of national scientific and technological progress as the only industry. Li Yeqing's positioning of this business is: "This work is very critical. It can not only achieve carbon reduction of alternative fuels, but also help the society to absorb and dispose of a large amount of waste, effectively safeguard the green mountains and rivers, make the cement plant become the standard of the city, and make the" waste-free city "no longer an armchair strategist." By 2021, there will be 37 environmental protection factories in Huaxin to dispose of domestic waste, with an annual disposal capacity of 6.16 million tons; by 2023, more than 20 million tons of solid waste will be comprehensively utilized, creating nearly 10 billion yuan of social and economic benefits. On August 28,

2021, Huaxin released the first White Paper on Low Carbon Development in China's cement industry, setting two hard targets: by 2030, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of product output value will be reduced by more than 70% compared with 2005, and the proportion of alternative fuel energy in primary energy consumption will reach more than 40%; By 2060, net zero emissions will eventually be achieved. Speaking of urgency, Li Yeqing used figures: "The carbon emissions of China's cement industry account for more than half of the world's cement industry carbon emissions, and account for 13% of China's total carbon emissions. Carbon emissions are the core issue of the cement industry, which is related to our future development and survival."

7. Renaming "Huaxin Building Materials" to rebuild a Huaxin

2025 overseas is another node year for Huaxin.

On October 8, the board of directors of the company agreed to change the Chinese name from "Huaxin Cement Co., Ltd." To "Huaxin Building Materials Group Co., Ltd.", the abbreviation of A-share securities was changed to "Huaxin Building Materials", and the code remained unchanged 600801. On December 15, the renaming and brand global conference was held in Wuhan.

Li Yeqing said very clearly in his speech: "This is not only a name change, but also a strategic leap." "Today's Huaxin has already stepped out of the corner of Huangshi and headed for the world." "Renaming is not farewell, but sublimation"- "Huaxin Cement" as a deep cornerstone brand, will continue to shine in the market.

An earlier account book shows the strength of the renaming. After 30 years of listing, Huaxin's operating income has increased from 230 million yuan to 31.439 billion yuan, and its total assets have increased from 610 million yuan to more than 65 billion yuan, with a total of 115. Overseas business is the steepest curve in recent years. According to China Cement Network, in the first half of 2026, Huaxin realized business income of 19.497 billion yuan and net profit of 1.713 billion yuan, up 21.5% and 55.22% respectively; Overseas operating revenue was 9.01 billion yuan, up 103.6% year-on-year, and overseas EBITDA reached 3.68 billion yuan, up 160% year-on-year. The proportion of overseas operating revenue in the company's total revenue has risen from 13% in the first half of 2022 to 46% in the first half of 2026, and the proportion of overseas EBITDA has jumped from 17% to 66%. Overseas business has changed from "supplement" to "half of the country" of the company.

Li Yeqing's next goal for Huaxin is to "rebuild a Huaxin overseas" in the next 5 to 10 years. The other side of expansion is responsibility. Faced with the economic downturn, market contraction and industry downturn, his commitment is straightforward: "Huaxin should take on the important task of stabilizing employment and never take the initiative to lay off employees." From 2022 to 2024, the company's employees from 1 to 2025, he has won two important honors: in July, he was awarded the title of the sixth "Excellent Builder of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics", the only entrepreneur in the cement industry who won this honor; on December 18, he was selected as the "Jingchu Model" in 2025.

he kept a very simple self-explanation.". "The black employees pulled me to take pictures, and their faces were full of smiles," he said of the scene when the Ndola plant in Zambia went into operation in June 2025. It was a production line built in 1969, a factory on the verge of bankruptcy, and now it has been transformed into a modern production line with a daily output of 2000 tons.

When he talks about himself, he speaks simply; when he talks about industry, his words are much harder. In May 2023, he published a signed article on China Cement Network entitled "Promoting the High-quality Development of Cement Industry with" Double Control of Energy Consumption "as a New Measure of Supply-side Reform in the New Period", pointing directly to the loopholes brought about by the approval of kiln diameter in the implementation of "Capacity Replacement": Many clinker production lines with a capacity of 5000 t/d have been replaced and approved, and the actual capacity has reached 7000 t/d after completion. As a result, the strange phenomenon of "30% of the kilns are stopped at the wrong peak throughout the year, 40% of the production capacity is increased, and the actual output is not reduced but increased" is formed. These have also been confirmed one by one in recent years.

On the road of China's cement industry from following to taking the lead, he is a rare person who has accomplished three things at the same time, namely, technology, capital, and globalization. Technically, he has replaced the import dependence of the main equipment with independent design. In terms of capital, he has used A + B shares, B shares to H shares, and private placement to bypass those "bends that cannot be bypassed" one by one; In terms of globalization, he opened the first overseas investment factory of China Cement in Tajikistan, and now overseas profits account for more than half of the group. The kiln fire

of Huaxin Cement has been burning for more than a hundred years. What Li Yeqing did was to light up the fire in more countries.