Rapidly growing demand for stainless steel in China has been providing mills in Asia and elsewhere with a market for a sizeable portion of their output, according to the Stainless Steel Review, November 2003. The country reports imports more than 2 million tonnes per year. However, that requirement is likely to fall sharply over the next few years. Stainless steelmaking in China is growing faster than anywhere else, and there will come a point at which it no longer needs imports in significant tonnages. Indeed, China could one day become a net exporter. The scale of the growth in Chinese stainless production will make China one of the world’s largest producers, and alter the balance of supply not only in Asia but also globally. Among the large companies with expansion plans are Taiyuan Iron & Steel and Tangshan. Posco of Korea and Yusco of Taiwan also have plans to develop stainless melting plants in China. There are numerous other smaller stainless projects in China, such as those at Baotou and Daye Special Steel.
