China's steel export grew 21.2 percent year on year in the first three quarters this year, according to the data released by China Iron and Steel Industry Association (CISA) Friday.
The data showed that China exported a total of 80.71 million tonnes of steel in the first three quarters.
The increased export is driven by an improved industrial structure, said Jiang Wei, vice president of CISA.
"As the county further advanced its industrial restructuring, the consumption structure of steel was also further improved, with steel consumption expanding rapidly particularly in sectors of new energy industry, high-end equipment manufacturing industry, and electric vehicle industry," said Jiang.
China has been promoting the digitalization and the green transition of its steel industry. The sector will be included in the country's carbon trading market, where the enterprises will be given a certain amount emissions quota over a designated period of time and trade the unused quota if they lower their carbon emissions.
The country is also working on a three-year action plan to digitalize the industry, with the corresponding guidelines issued to give specific plans of transition to links from production to buissness operation.
By early October, 159 steel companies in China had completed or partially completed the transformation and the evaluation of ultra-low carbon emissions.
By the end of 2025, the steel enterprises in the main steel-producing regions would have basically completed their ultra-low carbon emissions transformation.
Steel export up 21.2 pct in first three quarters
Iran on Monday publicly rejected a core U.S. demand to cease all uranium enrichment, while projecting a dual-track strategy of guarded diplomatic engagement and reinforced military preparedness.
The moves came as the indirect Iran-US talks in Oman's Muscat last week yielded no breakthrough and regional tensions continued to simmer.
On Monday, Mohammad Eslami, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that while Iran could consider diluting its 60-percent enriched uranium, it would only do so if all international sanctions were first lifted.
Eslami also dismissed past proposals to ship the material abroad for safekeeping.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi echoed this line on Monday, reaffirming Tehran's strategy of engaging in talks while refusing to concede on what Iran views as sovereign rights.
Pezeshkian and Araghchi have described the Muscat talks as a "good start" but warned that diplomacy must be based on "respect, not coercion."
In a televised speech on Monday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged Iranians to show unity and "disappoint the enemy" ahead of the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, amid rising tensions with the United States.
Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, is set to lead a delegation to visit mediator Oman on Tuesday.
Simultaneously, Iran has signaled a shift toward greater military opacity. Iran's state news agency IRNA said in a report on Sunday that the Defense Ministry has halted all public displays of new weaponry "for security reasons and to safeguard the principle of surprise," a move widely interpreted as preparing for potential conflict.
Positions from the United States and Israel have appeared equally firm. A report on Sunday by Israel's Channel 15 said the United States had privately messaged Iran, seeking Iran's "concessions" in the next round of talks, and expecting "serious and meaningful content."
On Monday, The Jerusalem Post, citing Israeli defense officials, reported that Israel has warned the U.S. it "will strike alone" if Iran crosses its "red lines" on ballistic missiles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb 11 in Washington, and will discuss the U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Netanyahu is expected to demand that the U.S. promote the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium out of the country and restrict Iran's ballistic missile capabilities.
Iran rejects zero enrichment, projects dual-track posture amid stalled talks with U.S.
