China's raw materials industry posted a steady start to the year, with the value-added industrial output rising 4.6 percent year on year in the first quarter, supported by solid profit growth, structural improvement and faster innovation breakthroughs.
Zhang Yunming, vice minister of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said at a press conference on Tuesday that the value-added industrial output of the petrochemical and chemical sector increased 7.4 percent year on year in the first quarter, while that of the non-ferrous metals sector grew 2.6 percent year on year.
From January to February, the profits of major raw materials industrial enterprises surged 45.6 percent year on year, with the profit margin reaching 4.2 percent, up 1.2 percentage points from the same period of last year, Zhang said, noting that the industrial structure of the sector has continued to improve.
"In the first quarter, the steel industry achieved positive growth of 2.5 percent in its added value despite a year-on-year decline in the output of major products such as crude steel and rolled steel," said the vice minister.
In the cement sector, nearly 30 million tons of production capacity was cut or phased out in the first quarter through capacity replacement policies.
Meanwhile, the revenue of the green construction materials industry continued to rise steadily, and the number of certified green building materials products increased by 5 percent compared with the end of 2025.
Innovations in the raw materials sector kept emerging in the January-March period, with China unveiling its independently developed industrial-grade product of the T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber for the first time globally.
The product is expected to see extensive application in strategic emerging industries including aerospace, low-altitude economy and humanoid robotics.
China's raw materials sector registers strong start in January-March
The United Nations (UN) has urged for an immediate resumption of dialog between the United States and Iran on Tuesday, as Iran's UN envoy maintained that further negotiations depend on the U.S. lifting its blockade.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told a press conference on Tuesday that the UN is maintaining intensive communications with all relevant parties to prevent further escalation of regional tensions, calling on the U.S. and Iran to resume talks as soon as possible.
"The secretary-general as well as personal envoy continue to have various numbers of communications. Our firm hope is that the dialog between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran will resume," said the spokesman.
However, the prospect of renewed talks remains uncertain. Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's permanent representative to the UN, told China Media Group (CMG) in an interview that they are ready for talks, but there are prerequisites.
"We hope so. We don't know. We're ready for that. It depends on the United States. If they [remove] the blockade, I think the next round of negotiation will take place," he said, when asked whether negotiations will resume.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday he will extend the ceasefire with Iran as the current two-week truce is set to expire on Wednesday night.
The U.S. military will continue the blockade against Iran and "remain ready and able," Trump added.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, whose trip to Pakistan for talks with Iran has been put on hold, was at the White House for meetings on Tuesday, along with Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, multiple media outlets reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrived at the White House on Tuesday afternoon to join discussions over Washington's next steps, according to the reports.
The United States violated the ceasefire by starting a naval blockade of Iran's ports, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday on X.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state TV late Tuesday that Iran has not yet decided whether to join fresh peace talks since it was upset about what he called mixed messages from Washington.
UN urges resumption of US-Iran dialog, Iran envoy demands end of blockade
