On July 9th, the 2025 Expanded Aluminum Application Forum was held at the Shanghai International Convention and Exhibition Center. Ge Honglin, the Party Secretary and President of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said in his speech that the aluminum industry has the largest volume in the nonferrous metals industry and a high degree of upstream and downstream correlation. It is a key industry for the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing and supporting high-quality economic development. After more than 20 years of rapid development, China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of aluminium products. In 2024, the comprehensive output of aluminum processed materials in China reached 49 million tons, representing a year-on-year growth of 4.4%. China's aluminium consumption reached 50 million tons, up by 4.9% year-on-year. The per capita aluminium consumption was 35.6 kilograms, ranking among the top in the world. He stated that the Nonferrous Metals Association has always attached great importance to expanding the application of aluminum and has consistently regarded it as a key task of the association. In recent years, meetings on expanding the application of aluminum have been made regular, with one theme per year. The theme of last year's conference was "Saving Copper with Aluminum". Over the past year, "Saving copper with aluminum" has been widely recognized by society.
The key theme of this forum is the application of aluminium in the packaging field. For this reason, Ge Honglin focused on three key points of opinion on how to expand the application of aluminum and boost aluminum consumption.
The first is to expand the application of aluminum in the packaging field. First, we must have confidence in expanding the application of aluminum in the packaging field. This confidence stems from the resilience of the domestic economy and policy dividends, from the continuous iteration and upgrading of packaging market demand, from the global competitiveness of China's aluminum materials industry, and also from the foundation of years of work and industry consensus on expanding aluminum applications. Second, to expand the application of aluminium in the packaging field, it is necessary to firmly follow the path of innovation-driven development. By innovating, we provide the market with more cost-effective can materials and better quality packaging aluminum foil. Through continuous innovation, we develop new products and open up new markets to expand the market for packaging aluminum. Thirdly, to expand the application of aluminium in the packaging field, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with the downstream industrial chain. This conference has invited the International Aluminium Institute, the China Packaging Federation, the European Flexible Packaging Association and others to jointly promote the application of aluminium in the packaging field, and it is sure to achieve very good results.
The second is to expand the application of aluminium and boost aluminium consumption. We should fully understand and make good use of the policy support from the national and local governments. We should make new contributions to stabilizing growth and promoting consumption by expanding the application of aluminum. It is necessary to create a new situation of government guidance, industry collaboration, enterprise innovation and social participation in expanding the application of aluminum. With the release of the "Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Aluminum Industry (2025-2027)", China's aluminum industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by government guidance, industry collaboration, enterprise innovation, and social participation. There is great potential and potential for expanding the application of aluminum.
Third, attention should be paid to the issue of unbalanced profits in the aluminum industry chain. The imbalance in the income of the industrial chain, if not alleviated for a long time, will inevitably have many negative impacts and be detrimental to the healthy development of the aluminum industrial chain. In particular, the excessively high prices of raw materials are not conducive to boosting aluminum consumption and expanding aluminum applications. A relatively reasonable price chain at each link is the cornerstone for the stable and healthy development of the industrial chain. The entire industry must attach great importance to and actively resolve the issue of unbalanced profits in the industrial chain.
