China Energy Outlook 2020 - Flipbook - Page 34
Figure 1-15. China’s Imports and Exports of Steel and Net Exports as a Share of Total Production (2009First Half of 2019).
Source: International Trade Administration, 2019a and 2019b.
Ammonia in is mostly used in the production of fertilizers to support the agricultural needs of
China’s growing population. Ammonia production grew steadily at 4% per year from 1998 to
2015. Ammonia production decreased slightly in 2016 and dropped quite significantly (-13%) in
2017 as a result of reduced fertilizer production. Ammonia production increased in 2018 back
to the level of 2016.
Compared to 2018, production of most industrial products in China has increased during 2019.
Table 1-2 shows that of 40 selected industrial commodities, 34 experienced production
increases in 2019. The commodities range from energy-intensive intermediate products such as
cement and steel to finished products such as photovoltaic cells, residential freezers, and air
conditioners (NBS, 2020).
Within China’s manufacturing sector, energy use for production of energy-intensive industrial
commodities has increased, growing from 84% of total manufacturing energy use in 2000 to
87% in 2017. Energy use for production of the six most energy-intensive industrial commodities
(ferrous metals, chemicals, non-metallic minerals, non-ferrous metals, petroleum refining, and
coking) increased even more, growing from 72% of total manufacturing energy use to 78%
(NBS, 2019b).
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