An employee checks the size of steel billets at a steel plant in Dalian, Liaoning province. [PhotoXinhua]

The proportion of steel used in China's manufacturing industry increased to 50 percent in 2024, up from 42 percent in 2020, Yao Lin, head of the China Iron and Steel Association, said at a conference on Monday.

Driven by surging demand for steel in the new energy and new infrastructure sectors, steel companies have improved their product portfolios and ramped up their development and production of high-end and specialty steel products, Yao said.

Looking ahead for 2025, steel demand in the manufacturing sector is expected to continue growing, driven in part by large-scale equipment renewals and the trade-in of consumer goods, according to Yao.

Noting that demand for high-strength steel in sectors such as construction machinery and mining equipment is expected to rebound in 2025, Yao emphasized the need to deepen cooperation mechanisms between steel producers and key downstream industries, including construction, shipbuilding and transportation.