Edwin Basson, director-general of the World Steel Association, said China's steel demand has peaked. However, China's steel output is still growing. On April 17, the National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that in March, China's crude steel output was 80.33 million tons, an increase of 10%. Due to the end of the winter production reduction policy and the increase in end-user demand, production is expected to increase further in April.

Bassen said that the recent increase in production may increase China's crude steel output in 2019 from 929 million tons in 2018 to 949 million tons. As the government increases control over the steel industry, China plans to add more than 60 million tons of steelmaking capacity through capacity replacement. At present, the demand for finished steel products in China has reached a peak of 860 million tons. He said that the gap between production and demand means that China will continue to be a steel exporter, but exports are more stable than in the past. This year, China's steel exports will reach 60-80 million tons.