ABSTRACT
With the world’s biggest population and possibly the largest economy within a short period of time, China is one of the world’s largest producer of metals as well as one of the largest consumers. This chapter examines the metals industry in China and hence to draw policy implications for global production, consumption and trade in metals. It focuses on forecasting the demand for steel in China and on examining the productive performance of major Chinese steel plants. In 1992, China’s production of major nonferrous metals ranked her tenth in the world. Several ministries and ministerial-level corporations in the Chinese government hierarchy are directly involved in metals production and trade activities. Due to China’s great economic power and large population base, changes in production activities and market conditions in China have important impacts on the world’s metals market and trade. The chapter examines some issues related to the production of nonferrous metals.
