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Steel Imports Report: China
Background
China was the world’s eight largest steel importer in 2018. In 2019, China imported 15.3 million metric tons of steel, an 8 percent increase from 14.2 million metric tons in 2018. China’s imports represented about 4 percent of all steel imported globally in 2019 (according to available data). The volume of China’s 2019 steel imports was about 60 percent that of the world’s largest importer, the United States. In value terms, steel represented under one percent of the total goods imported into China in 2019.
In 2019, China imported steel from over 80 countries and territories. The ten countries highlighted in the map below represent the top import sources for China’s imports of steel, with each sending more
In 2005, China’s steel exports and imports were virtually in balance. Since then, with the exception of 2009, China’s exports have increased dramatically, growing 169.7 percent between 2009 and 2019. During the same period, China’s imports have trended downwards, and decreased by 30.9 percent. After a steel trade deficit in 2005, China has posted a steel surplus every year since 2006. China’s steel trade surplus peaked at 97.0 million metric tons in 2015. In 2019, this surplus amounted to 46.7 million metric tons, an 11 percent decrease from a 52.7 million metric ton surplus in 2018.
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