China will continue to import iron ore in the short term

In 2020, China imported a total of 1.17 billion tons of iron ore, setting a new record.

Iron ore is the main raw material of steel. Due to the lack of iron ore, China relies heavily on imports, which account for around 80% to 90%.

The price of iron ore hit a once historic high to hit US$176.9/t last December, well above industry expectations. High prices caused the profits of steel mills in China to fall.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China will increase the concentration of its steel enterprises to 60% to solve the problem of rising iron ore prices. Although China has made some progress in acquiring overseas resources, in the short term, China still needs to import iron ore to maintain the situation.