H-section mills at Magang, Laiwu and the No. 1 Anshan rolling plant are in operation. Some small rolling mills with multistep reheating have been closed down. There is a major disparity between the steel industry of China and those of the advanced countries. This is reflected mainly in the variety of products and quality. Hot metal treatment, utilization of BOF gas, UHP furnaces and on-line secondary refining facilities need to be expanded.
Productivity is relatively low.
In recent years, however, steel production has been continuously increasing. In addition, insufficient use is being made of secondary resources and environmental pollution remains serious. The pressure for competitiveness, including product variety and quality, product cost, productivity and sustainable development, becomes increasingly serious. An accelerated optimization of the structure of industry with increased economic benefits represents an important and difficult historical mission of the Chinese steel industry in the new century. It is estimated that steel demand in China in the year 2000 will be 115 to 120 million tonnes and, in the year 2010, will increase to 140 to 150 million tonnes.