The China Iron and
Steel Association (CISA) plans to set up a committee to strengthen research on
iron ore, the official website of the CISA said on Sunday, one week after the
launch of a state-owned mineral resources group.
The moves by the
government showed that the nation attaches great importance to standardizing
the iron ore market, increase China’s pricing power for iron ore and reduce
external dependence on overseas ore in a bid to ensure resources security,
experts said.
The CISA said that
the establishment of the iron ore working committee is an important measure to
help promote high-quality development of the steel industry.
As a branch of the CISA, the working committee will be a professional
organization with independent management and self-discipline in iron
ore-related research and development work. The committee will be initially
composed of large iron and steel enterprises and the China Mineral Resources
Group, according to CISA.
The launch of the
committee, together with the China Mineral Resources Group, is expected to
enhance integration of domestic mineral resources and import of overseas iron
ore, a strategic resource that is vital to the economic security of the
country, Hu Qimu, chief research fellow at the Sinosteel Economic Research
Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.
For example, the
committee may coordinate financial resources of enterprises, government
agencies and banks, so that Chinese enterprises will emerge in the
international resources market with stronger competitiveness and improved
pricing power, Hu said.
The launch of the
iron ore working committee comes amid a swing of moves by the government to
guarantee the supply of important mineral resources and the safety of industry
and supply chains.
On July 25, the
China Mineral Resources Group was launched, marking the 98th centrally-owned
giant enterprises managed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and
Administration Commission of the State Council.
With registered
capital of 20 billion yuan ($2.97 billion), the giant company will engage in
the exploration of mineral resources, ore mining and import and export of
minerals, as well as supply chain management services, investment activities
and asset management services, according to Chinese business data platform
Tianyancha.
All these efforts
would make iron ore circulation more standard and enhance China’s pricing power
for iron ore with collective purchases, reducing overseas volatility producing
negative impacts on China’s domestic market.
Source: Global Times