Crude steel production by month in China 2015-2025

In March 2025, China's crude steel production amounted to 92.84 million metric tons, representing a significant increase compared to the same time in the previous year. The production volume in December 2023 hit the lowest point since 2017.

Significance of Chinese steel production

Over the past two decades, the Chinese steel industry has increased its output significantly and has grown into the world’s largest crude steel-producing country, accounting for over half of the global production in 2023. Among the leading ten global steelmakers in 2023, six companies were from China. These large state-owned enterprises have dominated the Chinese steel industry. Baowu Group alone produced about 131 million metric tons of raw steel in 2023. 

Other natural resources

With a total land area of 9.6 million square kilometers, China is one of the largest countries worldwide and in possession of large mineral deposits. China was by far the leading hard coal-producing country worldwide, with a hard coal production volume of almost 4.2 billion metric tons in 2022. China has been the world’s largest aluminum producer with a total smelter production of 43 million metric tons of aluminum in 2024. Also, China has the world’s largest reserves of zinc, antimony and many other nonferrous metals. Its annual rare earth production far exceeded the total for the rest of the world since the beginning of the decade.