On July 29th, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association held a press conference on the operation of the nonferrous metals industry in the first half of 2025 in a hybrid format of offline and online. Chen Xuesen, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, vice president and spokesperson of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, reported on the operation of China's nonferrous metals industry in the first half of the year and, together with the heads of relevant departments, answered questions from media reporters and enterprise representatives.
Chen Xuesen said that as an important support for developing new quality productive forces, China's non-ferrous metal industry operated stably as a whole in the first half of the year. Production maintained reasonable growth, investment kept double-digit growth, the revenue and profits of large-scale enterprises increased compared with the same period last year, and the import volume of major resources increased compared with last year. Although the prices of new energy metals dropped compared with the same period last year, However, the domestic market prices of major metal varieties and rare metals such as gold have shown a relatively strong trend.
First, the production of non-ferrous metals generally maintained growth. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in the first half of the year, the added value of the nonferrous metal industry above designated size increased by 7.6% year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points higher than the national growth rate of the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size. On the basis of a good start in the first quarter, it demonstrated strong resilience. In the first half of the year, the output of ten commonly used non-ferrous metals was 40.319 million tons, up by 2.9% year-on-year. Among them, the output of refined copper was 7.363 million tons, and the output of electrolytic aluminum was 22.379 million tons, increasing by 9.5% and 3.3% respectively year-on-year. These two were the main reasons for the growth in the output of ten commonly used non-ferrous metals. The metal content of six types of mines was 3.155 million tons, increasing by 5.5% year-on-year. The output of alumina was 45.151 million tons, increasing by 9.3% year-on-year. Copper output reached 11.765 million tons, up 3.7% year-on-year. The output of aluminium products was 32.768 million tons, up 1.3% year-on-year. According to statistics from relevant branches of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, among new energy metals, the output of industrial silicon was 2.183 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 5.5%. The output of electrolytic nickel was 173,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.1%. The output of refined cobalt was 94,000 tons, up 16.1% year-on-year. The output of lithium carbonate was 386,000 tons, up 29.0% year-on-year.
Second, fixed asset investment maintained a relatively fast double-digit growth. In the first half of the year, the fixed asset investment in the non-ferrous metals industry increased by 16.1% compared with the same period last year. On the basis of a relatively high base in the same period last year, it achieved further growth, with the growth rate 5.8 percentage points higher than the national industrial investment growth rate. Among them, the cumulative fixed asset investment in the mining and beneficiation industry increased by 46.2%, and the cumulative fixed asset investment completed by the smelting and rolling processing industry increased by 9.1%. Meanwhile, the vitality of private investment has been fully unleashed. In the first half of the year, private fixed asset investment in non-ferrous metals in China increased by 12.1% year-on-year. Among them, private investment in the non-ferrous metal mining and selection industry increased by 32.1% year-on-year, and private investment in the smelting and rolling processing industry rose by 7.6% year-on-year.
Third, the total volume of foreign trade maintained growth. In the first half of the year, although the trade volume of non-ferrous metal products and their derivatives between China and the United States dropped by 11%, the total trade volume of non-ferrous metals imports and exports still reached 192.49 billion US dollars, increasing by 2.4% year-on-year. Among them, the import value was 151.92 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 3.0%. The export volume was 40.57 billion US dollars, increasing by 29.1% year-on-year. The growth in export volume was mainly driven by gold products. Among the major import and export products, the import volume of copper ore and its concentrates was 14.754 million tons, increasing by 6.4% year-on-year. The physical import volume of bauxite was 103.25 million tons, increasing by 33.6% year-on-year. The import volume of unforged and rolled copper and copper products was 2.633 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 4.6%. The export volume of unrolled aluminum and aluminum products was 2.918 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 8.0%. The import and export volumes of major new energy metals maintained growth. The import volume of lithium carbonate was 118,000 tons, up 10.7% year-on-year. The export volume of unforged and rolled nickel was 91,000 tons, doubling year-on-year. The export volume of industrial silicon was 341,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 6.6%. Rare earth exports reached 33,000 tons, up 11.9% year-on-year.
Fourth, the prices of base metals have risen, while those of new energy non-ferrous metals have remained at a low level. In the first half of the year, the markets for common non-ferrous metals and new energy non-ferrous metals showed a significant divergence in performance. The prices of most non-ferrous metals continued to rise, with the average domestic spot prices of copper and zinc reaching new highs in the past three years. In the domestic spot market, the average price of copper was 77,613 yuan per ton, up 4.2% year-on-year. The average price of aluminium was 20,312 yuan per ton, up 2.6% year-on-year. The average price of lead was 16,952 yuan per ton, a year-on-year decrease of 0.5%. The average price of zinc was 23,305 yuan per ton, up 5.4% year-on-year. Influenced by the demand for safe-haven assets, the average domestic gold price was 725.6 yuan per gram, up 46.8% year-on-year. The prices of new energy non-ferrous metals are in a bottom-fluctuating stage. In the domestic spot market, the average price of industrial silicon was 10,000 yuan per ton, a year-on-year decline of 28.7%. The average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate was 71,000 yuan per ton, a year-on-year decline of 31.9%. The average price of nickel was 126,000 yuan per ton, down 8.5% year-on-year. The average price of cobalt was 207,000 yuan per ton, a year-on-year decrease of 7.3%.
Fifth, the revenue and profits of large-scale nonferrous metal enterprises continued to grow. Under the impetus of the intensified and expanded policies such as the "Two New" and "Two Major" initiatives, the fundamental aspect of the stable economic growth of the nonferrous metals industry has not changed. In the first half of the year, large-scale non-ferrous metal industrial enterprises achieved operating income of 4,793.25 billion yuan, an increase of 14.9% year-on-year. The total profit reached 217.85 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 15.0%. Among them, the non-ferrous metal mining and selection industry achieved a total profit of 59.55 billion yuan, an increase of 40.3% year-on-year. The total profit of the smelting and rolling processing industry reached 158.31 billion yuan, increasing by 7.8% year-on-year. The profit rate of operating income of large-scale non-ferrous metal industrial enterprises was 4.55%, increasing slightly year-on-year. Among them, the profit margin of operating income in the non-ferrous ore mining and selection industry was 30.03%, increasing by 5.53 percentage points year-on-year. The profit margin of operating income in the smelting and rolling processing industry was 3.45%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.22 percentage points. The asset profit rate was 6.98%, up by 0.61 percentage points year-on-year. The asset-liability ratio was 59.86%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.63 percentage points.
Chen Xuesen, in light of the international and domestic environment and operational characteristics of the non-ferrous metals industry in the first half of the year, made an outlook on the industry's operation for the whole year. From an international perspective, the international environment is complex and severe, with multiple risks superimposed and disturbing. The fluctuations in commodity prices have intensified, putting pressure on enterprises' operations. The trade friction between China and the United States is fraught with uncertainties, which will further intensify the pressure on the industry regarding the US and re-export trade, the layout of industrial chains and supply chains, investment and stable operation. Domestically, the domestic economy has demonstrated resilience, with endogenous driving forces supporting demand. The "new three items" and innovation-driven development provide support for market growth. The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association believes that the added value growth rate of the nonferrous metals industry will be around 5% in 2025, and the year-on-year growth rate of the output of ten commonly used nonferrous metals will be between 2% and 3%. The prices of common non-ferrous metals such as copper and aluminum remain at a high level with fluctuations, while the prices of industrial silicon and lithium carbonate are still hovering at the bottom. Imports of copper concentrate and bauxite maintained year-on-year growth, while exports of aluminium materials and aluminium products decreased year-on-year. The revenue and profits of large-scale non-ferrous metal enterprises are expected to maintain growth compared with the same period last year, but the growth rate may narrow.
Chen Xuesen stated that the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association will resolutely implement the decisions and plans of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, adhere to its functional positioning, make full use of all the existing and new national policies, and focus on the following four aspects of work in the second half of the year to solidly promote the high-quality development of the industry. First, we must continue to do a good job in maintaining stable growth to lay a solid foundation for a good start in the 15th Five-Year Plan. Second, carefully plan the "15th Five-Year Plan" for development and give full play to its leading role in the development of the industry. Third, we will continue to strengthen industry self-discipline and effectively curb the "intra-industry" vicious competition. Fourth, systematically sort out the practical experience of the export control policies for dual-use rare metals and continuously improve and optimize the control policies.
In the process of accelerating the high-quality development of the industry, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association will take the "15th Five-Year Plan" as an opportunity to continuously improve the quality and efficiency of the industry's economic operation, pay more attention to coordination and cooperation with the government and enterprises, and work together to promote the development of the nonferrous metals industry towards high-end, intelligent and green directions, contributing nonferrous metals strength to the full construction of a modern socialist power.
