2023 (5th) Stainless Steel and New Energy Materials Summit Forum
On the morning of September 8, the “2023 (5th) Stainless Steel and New Energy Materials Summit Forum” grandly opened at the Hantian Resort Hotel in Liyang, Jiangsu Province.
Attending the opening ceremony were Fang Xuejun, Vice Mayor of Liyang City; Zhang Zhifang, Executive President of the Stainless Steel Branch of the China Iron and Steel Association; Zhou Xu, Vice President of the Bulk Commodity Trading Market Circulation Branch of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing; Zhang Guoqiang, Deputy Party Secretary and Chairman of Angang Lianzhong (Guangzhou) Stainless Steel Co., Ltd.; Byun Sang-chil, Chief Deputy General Manager of POSCO (Zhangjiagang) Stainless Steel Co., Ltd.; Qian Haidong, General Manager of the Operations Center of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt New Materials Industry Group; Zhou Bo, Vice President of Jingmen GEM New Material Co., Ltd.; and Li Wenjin, General Manager of Yantai Kaishi Industrial Co., Ltd.
More than 400 industry elites, experts, scholars, and executives from major domestic stainless steel producers, trading and processing enterprises, and new energy companies also attended the event.
The summit was jointly organized by Wuxi Unilink E-Commerce Co., Ltd. and Liyang Unilink E-Commerce Co., Ltd., with the kind sponsorship of Wuxi Puxin Metal Products Co., Ltd., Zhangjiagang Baopu Steel Processing Co., Ltd., Wuxi Qingkong Stainless Steel Co., Ltd., and the Wuxi Branch of CITIC Futures Co., Ltd., as well as the strong support of many other participating organizations.
Speech by Yu Xiaochun, Chairman of Unilink Group
Yu Xiaochun, Chairman of Unilink Group, extended a warm welcome to all the distinguished leaders and industry elites attending the summit.
He noted that in 2022, leveraging Liyang’s strong advantages in the new energy industry, Unilink Group invested in and established the Unilink New Materials Smart Logistics Base Project. The first phase of the factory is currently being delivered, with several enterprises already settled in and commencing production within the park.
At the same time, the Liyang Unilink E-Commerce Platform, developed to complement the Unilink Smart Logistics Base Project, has also taken root in Liyang and is growing steadily. The platform has seen rapid development by building a comprehensive supply chain service system, and its growth rate is expected to exceed 50% this year.
Chairman Yu emphasized that at this critical stage of global economic recovery, the stainless steel and new energy materials industries possess strong new momentum for development. He called on all participants to focus on the present while looking toward the future, to uphold the spirit of cooperation and mutual benefit across the entire industry, and to seize new opportunities together—paving the way for shared success and sustainable growth while riding the wave of China’s high-quality development to create a bright future for the industry.
Speech by Qian Haidong, General Manager of the Operations Center, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt New Materials Industry Group.
As a leading enterprise in the new energy sector, Mr. Qian Haidong, General Manager of the Operations Center of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt New Materials Industry Group, addressed several pressing issues currently faced by the industry.
He noted that since 2023, the new energy industry has been centered around challenges such as the withdrawal of subsidies, intensifying price wars, overcapacity, and the continuous decline in raw material prices. Prices of key raw materials like nickel, cobalt, and lithium have fluctuated sharply, leading to operating losses for many companies within the industry. As enterprises across the supply chain enter a de-stocking cycle, most are maintaining low inventory operations, further compressing the profit margins of material manufacturers.
Mr. Qian emphasized that every company within this wave of new energy development is rethinking how to adapt and survive in this changing environment. Against this backdrop, he praised Unilink’s organization of this summit forum for providing an excellent platform for communication and exchange, expressing his confidence that it would have a positive and far-reaching impact on the development of the entire industry.
Speech by Zhang Zhifang, Executive President of the Stainless Steel Branch, China Iron and Steel Association.
As the guiding organization of this conference, Zhang Zhifang, Executive President of the Stainless Steel Branch of the China Iron and Steel Association, extended his congratulations on the grand opening of the summit forum.
He stated that new energy materials are the foundation of the new energy industry’s development, and with the continued advancement of this sector, the stainless steel industry is also embracing new opportunities for growth. Stainless steel, he emphasized, is a high-end material essential to the upgrading of China’s equipment manufacturing industry, and a key material in achieving the country’s dual-carbon strategy and energy structure transformation.
Looking ahead, the new energy sector will demand materials that are increasingly high-end, diversified, low-carbon, and intelligent. In this context, stainless steel—as a functional material—is gaining growing attention and wider application within the field of new energy.
Speech by Fang Xuejun, Vice Mayor of the Liyang Municipal People’s Government
Fang Xuejun, Vice Mayor of the Liyang Municipal People’s Government, delivered a speech at the summit forum.
He noted that the rapid development of the new energy industry has brought new momentum to the stainless steel sector. In recent years, Liyang has been committed to building a “2+2+X” industrial cluster framework focused on power batteries, high-end stainless steel, smart grids, and intelligent equipment manufacturing. As a result, the city’s manufacturing strength has grown steadily, its intelligent manufacturing capabilities have become more dynamic, and its innovation-driven vitality continues to surge.
Looking ahead, Liyang will consolidate its existing industrial foundation and seize the high-growth period of the high-end stainless steel industry. By leveraging Unilink Group’s integrated market support and international bulk commodity supply chain services, together with Delong’s stable and efficient supply advantages, and through the joint efforts of the government, Unilink, Delong, as well as experts, scholars, and enterprises, the city aims to further extend the high-end stainless steel industry chain—taking solid steps toward building its next 100-billion-yuan industrial cluster.
The summit forum invited several distinguished experts to deliver insightful reports. Ms. Qu Fengjie, Research Fellow at the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), summarized the ten major issues currently facing China’s economy and provided a detailed and targeted analysis of each.
Han Jianbiao, General Manager of Wuxi Unilink E-Commerce Co., Ltd., analyzed the current hot topics in the stainless steel and raw material markets, discussed the supply and demand situation, and offered his outlook on future market trends.
At the same time, the summit also invited Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Automobile Dealers Association, Bai Junfei from CITIC Securities, Liu Geng from Ningbo Liqin, and Wang Haoyang from CRU to deliver presentations focusing on the global development of the new energy vehicle industry and the market conditions of key raw materials such as nickel, lithium, and cobalt.
In addition, the forum invited Qin Xuanqi from SMR, Zhang Junhong from Shanghai Liying, and Li Hongbo from Jinduicheng Molybdenum Co., Ltd. to provide in-depth analyses of the current market situation and future trends of chromium and molybdenum products.
Finally, Zheng Feifan from CITIC Futures and industry expert Sun Wenzhong delivered presentations on arbitrage trading models in the spot and futures markets for bulk commodities, offering practical insights and techniques for arbitrage operations.
At the opening ceremony, awards were presented to the recipients of the “Top Ten Outstanding Enterprises”, which included categories such as “Top Ten Outstanding Processing and Trading Companies,” “Top Ten Outstanding Stainless Steel Special Material Distributors,” “Top Ten Outstanding Direct Supply Enterprises,” and “Top Ten Outstanding Raw Material Suppliers.”
The selection activity was jointly initiated and organized by Wuxi Unilink E-Commerce Co., Ltd. and the Wuxi Bulk Commodity Trading Association.
In addition, Liyang Unilink E-Commerce Co., Ltd. held a licensing ceremony for the “Liyang Unilink Carbonate Lithium Exempted-Inspection Enterprise.”