Each 12 months China makes as a lot metal as the remainder of the world mixed. The huge scale of its output—round 1bn tonnes a 12 months—is obscured by the truth that most of it stays within the nation. Recently, nonetheless, China’s exports of the metallic have surged, reaching 90m tonnes in 2023, up by 35% on the earlier 12 months (see chart 1). Which may be a fraction of China’s complete manufacturing, however it’s greater than what America or Japan make in a 12 months. And it is sufficient to construct a thousand Golden Gate bridges.
