China stainless steel is a rapidly developing market! 1. The current situation of China's stainless steel market is close to 10. From the end of 1990s to the beginning of 20th century, China's stainless steel market developed by leaps and bounds, which can be summarized as three "fastnesses" on the whole, namely, rapid growth of demand, rapid growth of production capacity and rapid improvement of manufacturing level; Six "faster than", namely: demand growth is faster than capacity growth, capacity growth is faster than raw material supply growth, import growth is faster than export growth, cold rolling capacity growth is faster than hot rolling capacity growth, non-public economic investment growth is faster than state-owned investment growth, and civil consumption growth is faster than industrial consumption growth! (I) Analysis of stainless steel market demand With the sustained and rapid economic growth in China, the apparent consumption of stainless steel in China is also increasing, from 260,000 tons in 1990 to 2.25 million tons in 200 1 year, surpassing the United States for the first time and becoming the largest stainless steel consumer in the world. Stainless steel is a kind of high quality steel, which is not only corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant, but also beautiful in appearance. Stainless steel waste can be reused without polluting the environment. It is 100% green environmental protection material. In some special occasions, replacing ordinary carbon steel with stainless steel can greatly improve the service life of components. For example, when the United States rebuilt more than 200 thousand damaged bridges, it replaced carbon steel with stainless steel, which extended the service life of bridges from 45 years to 80 years; Replacing carbon steel bars with stainless steel bars in Britain is expected to make the service life of high-rise buildings reach 120. These excellent properties of stainless steel determine that with the development of economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, its consumption will increase greatly. With China entering a new stage of building a well-off society in an all-round way and the acceleration of urbanization in China, the demand for stainless steel will further increase. It can be predicted that with the further improvement of the overall technical level of the stainless steel industry, stainless steel will be more widely used in automobile, household appliances, chemical industry, electric power, environmental protection and other fields. According to the prediction of relevant experts on the stainless steel market, the consumption of stainless steel in China will still increase at a faster rate in the future. Based on the consumption of 4.2 million tons of stainless steel in 2003, according to the average annual growth rate of 10% before 2005, the national consumption of stainless steel will reach 5.08 million tons in 2005. From 2006 to 20 10, according to the average growth level of stainless steel in the world of 7%, the national demand for stainless steel in 20 10 was about 7120,000 tons. According to the per capita demand of stainless steel, the per capita consumption in the world in 200 1 year is 4.9 kg. If the developing countries China and India are excluded, the per capita consumption in the advanced countries in the world is 9.6 kg. In 200 1 year, the per capita consumption in China reached 1.6 kg, in 2002 it reached 2.3 kg in China, and in 2003 it reached 3.0 kg. It is estimated that by 20 10, the per capita consumption of stainless steel in China will reach 5 kg, which is still lower than the current per capita consumption level of stainless steel in the world. Therefore, China stainless steel market has great development space. In addition, from the average steel consumption, stainless steel accounts for 1.5-3% of the world's total steel consumption, and the United States accounts for 2%. It is predicted abroad that if China develops to 250-300 million tons of steel and 5-6 million tons of stainless steel, the growth will be stable at 5- 10%. In 2 1 century, the focus of the production base of the world manufacturing industry has shifted to Asia, especially Chinese mainland. The consumption of stainless steel flat products in Asia will maintain a strong growth momentum at least in the next 10 to 15 years. (II) Analysis of Stainless Steel Market Supply The current situation of China's stainless steel industry is that the domestic production capacity is insufficient and cannot fully meet the needs of the domestic market. From 1990 to 1999, China's stainless steel imports increased year by year, with an average growth rate of 28.59%. In 2002, the import of stainless steel reached 2,378,300 tons, accounting for 79.8% of the total consumption. Second, domestic enterprises are generally small in scale, with high production costs and unstable quality. In 2002, a considerable part of the total domestic stainless steel production was produced by small and medium-sized enterprises, with backward equipment, low production efficiency and unstable quality. At present, there are only nine domestic stainless steel production enterprises, with an annual output of more than 6.5438+0 million tons, and Taigang is the largest, with a stainless steel production capacity of 6.5438+0 million tons. Third, the concentration of stainless steel industry is not high. In 2002, the output of the top four stainless steel enterprises accounted for 53.3% of the national stainless steel output, and the output of the top eight enterprises accounted for 6 1.4% of the national output. With the strong growth of national economy and the substantial improvement of people's living standards, the stainless steel industry in China has entered a period of rapid growth. A large number of reconstructed stainless steel projects are under construction, and a number of proposed stainless steel projects are being demonstrated. It is estimated by relevant parties that it will reach 6 million tons by 20 10. In addition, with the beginning of a new round of structural adjustment of steel products, some domestic metallurgical enterprises have targeted at stainless steel products that are still short-term. In addition, in order to occupy the stainless steel product market in China, large foreign stainless steel producers have started joint ventures and cooperation with domestic stainless steel producers to jointly produce stainless steel. Some private enterprises are also optimistic about the stainless steel market and are accelerating the pace of entering the stainless steel production field. (III) Analysis of Supply and Demand of Stainless Steel Market Generally speaking, the pattern that the production capacity of China stainless steel industry is lower than the domestic market demand will not change in the next few years, and it is necessary to make up for the supply and demand gap of China stainless steel market through imports. Although China's entry into WTO has accelerated the opening of the domestic stainless steel market to the world, there is still a certain lag in the complete release of the WTO entry effect. Therefore, the development space of stainless steel industry in China is still very large in the next few years. Second, the main problems and countermeasures of China's stainless steel industry development (I) The main problems faced by China's stainless steel industry development 1, the contradiction between supply and demand is serious. The average annual growth rate of stainless steel consumption in China from 1.990 to 2003 was 2 1.4%, but the growth rate in 2004 was only 6.7%, which was stagflation. By 20 10, the smelting capacity of stainless steel will exceed 100000 tons, the hot rolling capacity will be close to100000 tons, and the cold rolling capacity of stainless steel will reach more than 6 million tons, all of which are greater than the possible consumption. In terms of varieties, the author thinks that the surplus of cold-rolled stainless steel will appear before hot-rolled stainless steel. In 2008, the supply of hot rolled stainless steel will also begin to exceed the demand. 2. There is a shortage of raw materials. China is short of nickel, chromium and stainless steel wastes, and the shortage of raw materials will seriously restrict the rapid growth of production capacity. 3. The homogenization is serious. Private narrow-band and state-owned and foreign-funded camps have serious homogenization, fierce competition and disorderly development. There is still a big gap between variety and quality. Compared with international advanced enterprises, domestic stainless steel has fewer varieties and lower quality level, and it still needs to be imported for some varieties and quality reasons for quite some time. 5.R&D ability is weak. Due to the shortage of human resources, imperfect incentive mechanism and insufficient production experience, the overall R&D capability of stainless steel production enterprises in China needs to be improved. 6. The circulation field is not standardized. The circulation enterprises are small in scale, low in degree of organization and modernization, and there are still some bad phenomena such as counterfeiting, shoddy goods and chaotic labels. There are tens of thousands of stainless steel circulation enterprises with about 200,000 employees, but there are only two enterprises with annual sales exceeding 200,000 t, and less than 30 enterprises with annual sales exceeding 50,000 t. 7. The deep-processed products are of low grade. China stainless steel extension processing is mainly based on low-grade kitchen utensils and decorative tubes, while high-grade bright plates and color products are few. 8. Sales methods and means need to be strengthened. Sales channels need to be further expanded, cutting and distribution capacity needs to be strengthened, and logistics level needs to be improved. 9200 series developed in disorder. 200 series stainless steel has seriously damaged the image of stainless steel and brought waste steel recycling pollution, which needs to be standardized urgently. (II) China stainless steel industry development countermeasures 1. Optimize the industrial structure and eliminate backward technology. China's stainless steel industry structure is still unreasonable. For example, the existing primary and secondary production capacity and technical equipment level are very high, and only about 70% of them conform to the national industrial policy; There are too many cold-rolled narrow strips, and the capacity of wide plates is insufficient; There are too many decorative pipes and not enough industrial pipes. Therefore, it is necessary to further optimize the industrial structure and eliminate backward technologies. In addition, China's stainless steel industry started late and its concentration is low. Most of the small stainless steel production plants scattered around the country have small production scale, poor product quality and weak competitiveness, and are in urgent need of integration. Through mergers and acquisitions, expand the scale of enterprises, enhance industrial concentration, promote the optimization of competitive structure, and further promote the sustained and healthy development of the market. 2. Strengthen applied research and adjust product structure. China is a country lacking in nickel, so the application of nickel-saving martensite, ferrite and Cr-Ni-Mn stainless steel should be popularized. Encourage the development of duplex stainless steel and precipitation hardening stainless steel with high strength and corrosion resistance. Although the corrosion resistance of 200 series and 400 series is not as good as that of 300 series, China has a vast territory and can be widely used in rainy areas in the central and western regions, and can also be vigorously promoted in industries with low corrosion resistance requirements. Stainless steel enterprises should strengthen the research and development of stainless steel grades to improve their machinability and corrosion resistance. Trade associations should increase the development and promotion of stainless steel application, advocate economic, practical and reasonable consumption, and let users buy stainless steel that is both economical and can meet the performance requirements of their products. 3. Strengthen technological innovation and improve market competitiveness. The production process of stainless steel is complex, the production is difficult, and the product quality is very high. It is easy to adopt modern advanced technology and equipment for centralized and efficient production. Most stainless steel enterprises in China are newly-built production lines. We should focus on improving product quality and enterprise competitiveness, base ourselves on the domestic market, strengthen production and technical management, and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the international market. 4. Optimize resource allocation and reduce production costs. China is a country with poor stainless steel resources, which is short of nickel and chromium. Countries all over the world have launched fierce competition for the development control of nickel-chromium resources. Therefore, the supply of Ni-Cr resources is an important limiting factor for the development of stainless steel production in China. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the exploration and development of domestic nickel-chromium mineral resources and strive for more nickel-chromium resources supply; Secondly, actively participate in the development of foreign nickel-chromium resources, and at the same time develop and utilize low nickel-chromium ore resources. In addition, it is particularly important to optimize the allocation of scrap steel resources and make rational use of scrap steel resources. Small electric furnaces with serious waste of resources and backward production technology should be shut down and turned around, so as to provide large enterprises and advanced production lines with sufficient discarded raw materials and reduce production costs. 5. Strengthen market supervision and standardize market order. Strengthen market supervision and quality supervision to improve the quality level. It is necessary to promote the development of stainless steel circulation industry, strengthen the management of stainless steel circulation enterprises, strengthen law enforcement and severely crack down on counterfeit and shoddy products. It is necessary to strengthen the research and coordination of cooperation and division of labor among enterprises, foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, complement each other's advantages and reduce homogenization competition; It is necessary to promote the export of stainless steel, increase the intensity of export, do a good job in the investigation and coordination of export work, and avoid anti-dumping charges. Three. Impact of WTO on China Stainless Steel Market and Analysis of Development Trend of China Stainless Steel Market (I) Impact of WTO on China Stainless Steel Market "WTO accession" conforms to the strategic goal of China's reform and opening up, further promotes China's reform and opening up and China's economic development, and also has a positive, far-reaching and huge impact on China stainless steel industry. 1, promoting the further opening of the stainless steel industry. The existing domestic and foreign-funded stainless steel production enterprises have brought a lot of capital, technology and advanced management to China's stainless steel industry. They will make use of the relatively cheap labor force in China, and use their own technology and management to produce high-quality and low-priced products and occupy their own market share. After China's entry into WTO, China's investment environment has been more optimized, attracting more foreign enterprises to enter China's stainless steel industry. Once the market demand increases geometrically, it will lead to a larger scale of foreign investment. 2. Accelerating the internationalization of stainless steel industry is an important feature of world economic development. Joining WTO has accelerated the pace of China's participation in international division of labor and international exchanges, and stainless steel industry is no exception, which will eventually become a part of the whole international division of labor system and the world industrial system. As far as the development level of stainless steel industry is concerned, China will be in the transition stage from labor-intensive industry to technology-intensive industry for quite some time. Only by constantly improving the level of industrial development and promoting industrial upgrading can we be in a favorable position in international division of labor and international competition, so we must seize the opportunity and actively use industrial internationalization to promote industrial upgrading. 3. Promote the export of stainless steel products to join the WTO, so that China can enjoy the most-favored-nation treatment enjoyed by member countries and the benefits of market opening in other countries and regions, which will help to break the trade barriers of foreign countries to China's export products and accelerate the pace of Chinese stainless steel production enterprises to explore overseas markets. However, at present, China stainless steel products have no competitive advantage in the international market. From the perspective of development, stainless steel products have great export potential. China's huge stainless steel product market is very beneficial to the development of stainless steel product industry, which in turn drives the export industry. Foreign-funded stainless steel products enterprises will also become one of the main growth factors of China's stainless steel products export. With China's entry into WTO, the factors restricting the development of China's stainless steel industry will gradually disappear, and the stainless steel industry will flourish, and China will eventually become a strong exporter of stainless steel products in the world. (II) Analysis of the development trend of stainless steel market in China The main driving force for the growth of stainless steel consumption comes from the level of national economic development and the upgrading of people's consumption. In the future, China's economy will continue to develop at a growth rate of around 8%, and the process of industrialization and urbanization will provide the foundation and guarantee for the long-term growth of the stainless steel market. 1, overall trend First of all, the market potential still exists. The per capita apparent consumption of stainless steel in China is far from that in Britain, where the consumption level in developed countries (regions) is low. Secondly, the application prospect is broad. ABC architecture, structure, infrastructure) and art (automobile, train, shipbuilding), as well as environmental protection and other industrial fields, there is still great application space. Third, we need to import in the near future. There is a big gap between domestic stainless steel varieties, quality, R&D and innovation ability and international advanced enterprises, and some varieties and quality reasons still need to be imported for quite some time. Finally, the competitive level has improved. In recent years, China's major stainless steel manufacturing enterprises (such as Dai Nan Stainless Steel) have greatly improved their stainless steel manufacturing technology level by introducing a large number of world-advanced equipment, processes and technologies, and combining introduction with absorption, transformation and new construction. In the medium and long term, with the implementation of major new construction and expansion projects of other enterprises, the concentration of stainless steel industry is expected to increase, further promoting the rationalization of industry structure, which is conducive to the sustained and healthy development of the market. In recent years, joint ventures and cooperation in the field of stainless steel have also effectively improved the management level of stainless steel enterprises. With the improvement of concentration, the optimization of organizational structure and the upgrading of consumption and competition, enterprises will have greater pressure and motivation to devote themselves to technological innovation in the stainless steel field, thus enhancing the overall competitiveness of China's stainless steel industry. 2. Development trend of stainless steel varieties With the increasing global demand for nickel and the domestic general optimism about the stainless steel industry, the international nickel price has risen rapidly. In 2006, the highest price reached 230 million US dollars /t, and the rapid rise of international nickel price increased the production cost of nickel-chromium stainless steel. Therefore, developing high-nitrogen and low-nickel stainless steel and increasing the output and proportion of ferritic stainless steel are of great significance to China, which is seriously short of nickel resources. High nitrogen and low nickel stainless steel has better mechanical properties such as toughness, plasticity, wear resistance and stronger corrosion resistance, and has better biocompatibility, which not only saves nickel resources, but also has lower cost and easy recovery, and has good development prospects. Although nitrogen alloy stainless steel can be produced industrially at present, there is still room for further research and breakthrough in nitrogen substitution and other production processes in China, especially how to further improve the nitrogen content in nitrogen alloy stainless steel until nickel is completely replaced by nitrogen. Ferritic stainless steel has great development space in China. Austenitic steel is the main stainless steel used in China, accounting for more than 90%. In the world stainless steel production, austenitic stainless steel accounts for about 75% on average. Therefore, reducing the proportion of austenitic stainless steel is an important measure to save nickel, which is also in line with the development trend of stainless steel in the world. Ferritic stainless steel is a good material for environmental protection because it contains no nickel and is cheaper. With the rapid development of industry in China, a large number of ferritic stainless steels are needed in automobile industry, household utensils, kitchen facilities and household appliances. !