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How did the raw materials industry perform overall in the first quarter? What are the overall plans for promoting supply-side structural reform of raw materials industry and facilitating high-quality development going forward? Thank you.

Zhang Yunming:

Thank you for your questions. I will answer them. In the first quarter, we implemented the new round of work plans for stabilizing growth in 10 key industries, focusing on promoting the optimization and upgrading of production capacity structure. We achieved a good start in the raw materials industry, made more powerful progress in transformation, and strengthened the industrial structure. This can be viewed from the following three aspects.

First, in terms of scale, overall industry production remains stable. In the first quarter, the value added of the raw materials industry increased 4.6% year on year. Specifically, the value added of the petrochemical and chemical industry increased 7.4% year on year, and that of the non-ferrous metals industry grew 2.6%. In terms of output of key products, the output of 10 commonly used non-ferrous metals increased 3.6%, while the output of the ethylene, fertilizer and refined copper all increased more than 5%. Profits of raw materials enterprises above designated size increased 45.6% year on year in January and February, with a profit margin of 4.2%, up 1.2 percentage points from the same period last year.

Second, in terms of framework and structure, the industrial structure continues to be optimized. The steel industry is going through "quantity reduction and quality improvement." In the first quarter, despite a year-on-year decline in the output of major products such as crude steel and steel products, the value added of the steel industry still achieved a positive growth of 2.5%. In other words, the value created by each metric ton of steel is increasing, and the steel backbone of the manufacturing industry is becoming more resilient. The building materials industry is going through a decrease in one respect and an increase in another. In the first quarter, the cement industry proactively "slimmed down," reducing or eliminating nearly 30 million metric tons of production capacity through capacity reduction and replacement. At the same time, the revenue of the green building materials industry has grown steadily, and the number of building materials products certified as green has increased 5% compared with the end of 2025. This "one decrease and one increase" is a vivid example of industrial transformation and upgrading.

Third, in terms of driving force, innovative achievements are emerging at an accelerated pace. We independently developed and launched the world's first industrial-gradeT1200 ultra-high-strength carbon fiber product, which is expected to be widely used in strategic emerging industries such as aerospace, low-altitude economy and humanoid robots. A number of enterprises that have mastered key core technologies and have strong innovation capabilities are developing key products in the fine chemical industry. The sector for high-end chemical materials such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and medical-grade polyoxymethylene (POM) is developing rapidly, and the industry's own momentum and vitality are increasing.

Next, the MIIT will thoroughly implement the arrangements of the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, continue to consolidate the foundation while fostering new drivers, and strengthen overall planning and policy supply. On the one hand, we will focus on consolidating the foundation for upgrading traditional industries, promoting the optimization of existing production capacity and the transition toward green and safe operations. On the other hand, we will fully activate the innovation engine and accelerate the layout of cutting-edge materials and R&D breakthroughs in key materials, thereby providing more solid and reliable material support for developing new quality productive forces and advancing new industrialization. Thank you.