On January 14, data disclosed by the General Administration of Customs showed that China imported 1.17 billion tons of iron ore in 2020, an increase of 96.746 million tons year-on-year, an increase of 9.5%.
That surpassed the previous record of 1.075m tonnes in 2017.
According to the General Administration of Customs, the corresponding amount of imported iron ore last year was 822.87 billion yuan, up 17.4 percent year on year and also a record high.
According to the China Iron and Steel Association, the average price of iron ore imports in 2020 will be $101.7 / ton, up 7.3 percent from $94.8 / ton in 2019.
The surge in China's iron ore imports reflects strong demand in downstream steel markets.
China's crude steel output is expected to exceed 1 billion tons for the first time in 2020, reaching 1.05 billion tons, accounting for about 60% of the world's crude steel output, Li Xinchuang, Party secretary of Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, said at a press conference on "2021 China and Global Steel Demand Forecast Research Results" held on December 21, 2020.
Li expects China to consume 981 million tons of steel in 2020, up 9.6 percent year on year.
Mr Li said the record demand had driven China's steel production to record levels.
The steel industry has played an important role in underpinning China's rapid macroeconomic recovery.
According to statistics from the China Iron and Steel Association, China imported 20.233 million tons of steel last year, up 64.4% year on year.
Exports of 536.71 million tons of steel, down 16.5% year on year.
Iron ore is an important raw material for steel.
China imports more than 80 per cent of its iron ore, with Australia and Brazil the main importers.
The two countries account for more than 60 per cent and 20 per cent of China's total iron ore imports respectively.
The "2021 China and Global Steel Demand Forecast Study Results" predicts that global steel consumption in 2020 will be 1.747 billion tons, a year-on-year decline of 2.5 percent.
In addition to a modest 1.7 percent increase in steel demand in Asia, the Middle East, North America, Africa and other regions all saw double-digit declines.
Li forecast China's steel demand to be 991 million tons in 2021, up 1 percent year on year.
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