New Beijing News (Reporter Zhong Jingjing) Yesterday, the National Development and Reform Commission disclosed on its official website that it has approved the Guangdong Zhanjiang and Guangxi Fangchenggang portsSteel projectAll of them are planned steel projects, and their construction is based on the premise of reducing steel production capacity, in order to promote the structural adjustment of the steel industry.

　　Has the approval been expedited without a response

On May 25th, the official website of the National Development and Reform Commission disclosed that three major steel projects, namely Fangchenggang in Guangxi, Zhanjiang in Guangdong, and Qiangang in Shougang, have been approved. The total investment in the two steel bases, Fangchenggang in Guangxi and Zhanjiang in Guangdong, has exceeded 130 billion yuan. The picture of Wang Zhongbing, the mayor of Zhanjiang City, holding the approval document with a deep kiss and ink fragrance is impressive.

In fact, as early as 1989, the Guangdong Provincial Government submitted a proposal to the State Council for the construction of the Zhanjiang Iron and Steel Base project. In 2008, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the preliminary work of the Zhanjiang project. But due to the international financial crisis and national concernsSteel IndustryThe regulatory policies for the Zhanjiang project and Fangchenggang project have not yet obtained the "birth permits". The concentrated approval of several major steel projects this time coincides with the State Council executive meeting on May 23, which proposed to place "stable growth" in a more important position and launch a number of major projects that are related to the overall situation and have strong driving force. Therefore, it has also sparked speculation from the outside world that the National Development and Reform Commission will accelerate approval and use project investment to drive economic development. Regarding this speculation, the official statement from the National Development and Reform Commission has not been made. However, in recent years, overcapacity and low product levels in the steel industry have been the current situation and the target of government regulation.

Li Zhongjuan, Deputy Inspector of the Industry Coordination Department, stated at the "Special Work Meeting on Optimizing the Layout and Structural Adjustment of the Steel Industry" that the 12th Five Year Plan period is a favorable opportunity for China's steel industry to increase structural adjustment,overcapacityProvided a market environment for controlling the total amount and adjusting the structure. She stated that the newly approved construction of two steel projects, Fangchenggang in Guangxi and Zhanjiang in Guangdong, is based on the premise of reducing steel production capacity. Guangdong has a cumulative compressed crude steel production capacity of 16.14 million tons, while Guangxi and Wuhan Iron and Steel have a cumulative compressed crude steel production capacity of 10.7 million tons.

　　Previously, 'no new projects for three years'

China is currently the world's largest producer of steel. According to data from the Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, as of the end of 2011, China's crude steel production capacity had reached around 900 million tons. Of the 357 million tons of production capacity that has been under construction since 2005, 79% have not obtained national approval as required. As early as 2009, in order to control steel production capacity, the Chinese government implemented strict regulations on the steel industry, prohibiting new projects for three years. get rid ofShougang RelocationApart from the post Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction project, the construction of coastal steel bases such as Baosteel Zhanjiang and Wuhan Iron and Steel Fangchenggang, as well as the relocation of urban steel mills and other layout adjustment tasks, have basically not been implemented.

In early April, Li Zhongjuan bluntly stated at the 3rd China Steel Planning Forum that the current industry layout adjustment is facing a dilemma. Without adjustment, the contradictions between steel production capacity and resources, environment, and other aspects cannot be improved. However, adjustment may lead to further increase in production capacity and exacerbate the overall overcapacity.

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　　China Iron and Steel Association: New projects can replace outdated production capacity

Qu Xiuli, Deputy Secretary General of the China Iron and Steel Association, stated yesterday that from the perspective of industrial layout and product structure, the projects of Wuhan Iron and Steel and Baosteel are actually replacing outdated production capacity with advanced production capacity, rather than simply launching new projects. She believes that both projects are located in major steel consuming provinces such as Guangdong and Guangxi, while also radiating to the southeast coast and Southeast Asian markets, with huge geographical advantages.

The timing of obtaining the approval documents is a bit wrong now, as we are at the point of overcapacity. However, these two projects have a construction period of three years and will not generate production capacity for a long time. After the projects are put into operation, the Chinese steel industry may have already completed the elimination of outdated production capacity and may not have overcapacity, "said Qu Xiuli.

Li Xinchuang, Executive Deputy Secretary General of the China Iron and Steel Association, also believes that although the current production capacity of the country can meet the demand in terms of numbers, there are actually unreasonable layouts internally, such as some backward and unreasonable production capacity, which must be eliminated and reorganized through the development of advanced production capacity. Moreover, a large amount of steel consumption is now located along the southeast coast, while goods have to be transported from North China, resulting in high logistics costs and irrationality. He stated that the approval of these two major projects is based on the condition of replacing a portion of the production capacity, so as long as the replacement capacity is effectively implemented, it will be beneficial for ChinaSteel industryThe overall impact on production capacity is' okay '.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's crude steel production reached 683.27 million tons in 2011, a year-on-year increase of 8.9%. The average daily crude steel production for the year was 1.872 million tons, an increase of 155200 tons from the previous year. Figure/CFP

Li Zhongjuan, Deputy Inspector of the Industry Coordination Department of the National Development and Reform Commission: With the approval of the State Council, our commission has approved the steel base projects in Zhanjiang, Guangdong and Fangchenggang, Guangxi. The construction of the project is based on the premise of compressing steel production capacity, with Guangdong having a cumulative compressed crude steel production capacity of 16.14 million tons, Guangxi and Wuhan Iron and Steel having a cumulative compressed crude steel production capacity of 10.7 million tons, and ensuring personnel placement and social stability.