China’s latest advisory news: Trump says he’s canceling all talks with Iranian officials; steel futures rise in overnight trading.

China’s latest advisory news: Trump says he’s canceling all talks with Iranian officials; steel futures rise in overnight trading.

◎ The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held the 18th Symposium for Manufacturing Enterprises. Representatives from 12 leading companies across key industries—including steel, nonferrous metals, new materials, automobiles, machinery, shipbuilding, light industry, pharmaceuticals, and electronics—attended the meeting. The meeting emphasized actively participating in the formulation of industry rules and the establishment of self-regulatory mechanisms, and consciously resisting “involution.”

◎ On January 13, the State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing to introduce details about the “Comprehensive Action Plan for the Management of Solid Waste.” This year, the National Development and Reform Commission will take the lead in drafting the “15th Five-Year Plan” for the development of a circular economy, outlining key measures for the recycling and utilization of traditional renewable resources, rare and precious metals, and the “new three types” of solid waste, while also enhancing the supporting system.

◎ U.S. President Trump stated that all talks with Iranian officials have been canceled. Earlier, the U.S. State Department had already urged U.S. citizens to leave Iran immediately. Additionally, on the 13th in Detroit, when asked by reporters whether the U.S. was advising its allies to evacuate Iran, Trump said: “They should evacuate. It’s a good idea.”

◎ From January 5 to January 11, the total iron ore inventory at seven major ports in Australia and Brazil reached 12.552 million tons, an increase of 969,000 tons from the previous week, continuing its upward trend. Currently, the inventory level is slightly below the average for the fourth quarter.

◎ The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued the "Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Industrial Internet Platforms (2026–2028)." The plan mentions implementing an initiative to integrate industrial internet with artificial intelligence, guiding platform enterprises to accelerate the enhancement of AI literacy and skills among all employees, and promoting the penetration of AI technologies throughout the entire industrial value chain.

◎ U.S. President Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on countries that conduct business with Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded by stating that China will firmly safeguard its legitimate and lawful rights and interests.

◎ Shanghai has introduced 28 measures to enhance the quality and efficiency of the service sector and boost and expand consumption. Among these measures is the optimization of auto loan procedures and the relaxation of application requirements.

◎ The World Bank has raised its 2026 global economic growth forecast to 2.6%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from its previous projection. It is expected that U.S. GDP growth will reach 2.2% in 2026, while the Eurozone’s economic growth will slow to 0.9%, and Japan’s economic growth will decelerate to 0.8%.

◎ In December 2025, the U.S. CPI rose 2.7% year-on-year, and the core CPI rose 2.6%, both unchanged from the previous values. U.S. President Trump, citing the latest U.S. inflation data, called for a rate cut and sharply criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Powell.

◎ On January 13, the nationwide spot trade volume of iron ore at major ports reached 841,000 tons, an increase of 11.8% from the previous month. Meanwhile, the trade volume of construction steel among 237 mainstream traders totaled 83,600 tons, a decrease of 20.9% from the previous month.

◎ Over the past two weeks, the market volume at the Ganqimodu Port has exceeded 600,000 tons, of which nearly 400,000 tons were Mongolian Grade 5 raw coal and refined coal, accounting for as much as 65.75%. The self-pickup price of Mongolian Grade 5 raw coal at the port has risen from 960 yuan/ton to 1,080 yuan/ton, an increase of 120 yuan/ton. Trading companies have become more active in hauling goods, and the number of trucks clearing customs has once again climbed above 1,500 vehicles.

◎ On January 13, the average cost of construction steel from 76 independent electric arc furnace steel mills was 3,370 yuan per ton, up 2 yuan per ton from the previous day. The average profit loss was 37 yuan per ton, while the profit from off-peak electricity usage stood at 77 yuan per ton.

◎ Sichuan Dugang Steel plans to suspend production and take a holiday starting February 10, with the resumption date yet to be determined. This will reduce output of various steel products by approximately 55,000 tons.

◎ Sichuan Desheng plans to begin maintenance on a bar rolling mill from late January to early February, with an estimated duration of 7 days. This maintenance is expected to affect total rebar production by approximately 30,000 tons.

◎ The cities of Jining, Dezhou, and Tai'an in Shandong Province activated a Level II emergency response for severe pollution weather at 8 p.m. on January 13; Chengdu in Sichuan Province upgraded its yellow alert for severe pollution weather to an orange alert at midnight on January 13.

◎ On January 13, the People's Government of Nanhai District, Foshan City, signed a cooperation agreement with Tianjin Youfa Steel Pipe Group Co., Ltd. The Youfa Group’s Guangdong Regional Headquarters project—total investment: 2 billion yuan—is officially set to be located in Jiujiang Town, Nanhai District.

◎ Linggang Shares announced that it expects its net profit attributable to owners of the parent company for 2025 to be a loss ranging from RMB 1.67 billion to RMB 1.45 billion.

◎ China National Coal Energy Company announced that its 2025 production of marketable coal will be 135.1 million tons, down 1.8% year-on-year; sales volume will reach 255.86 million tons, a decrease of 10.2% year-on-year.

◎ On January 13, the Ministry of Commerce issued an announcement stating that, starting January 14, 2026, anti-dumping duties will continue to be imposed on imported solar-grade polysilicon originating from the United States and South Korea for a period of five years.

◎ The Dalian Commodity Exchange issued a notice stating that, starting from the trading session on January 15, the transaction fees for all lithium carbonate futures contracts except for the 2601 contract—and the intraday closing-position transaction fees—will be adjusted to 3.2 per thousand of the transaction amount.

◎ Rongbai Technology announced that it has signed an agreement with CATL to supply 3.05 million tons of lithium iron phosphate cathode materials, with total sales exceeding 120 billion yuan.

◎ The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group announced that, subject to regulatory approval, it will launch 100-ounce silver futures contracts on February 9.

◎ From January 5 to January 11, the total transaction (signed) area of newly built commercial properties in 10 key cities amounted to 1.1 million square meters, down 53% month-on-month and 41.4% year-on-year. The total transaction (signed) area of second-hand homes reached 1.9568 million square meters, up 59% month-on-month but down 20.8% year-on-year. More details>>

◎ COSCO SHIPPING Holdings announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, COSCO Asset, has signed a total of twelve shipbuilding agreements with Jiangnan Shipyard and CSSC Trading, under which twelve 18,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel powered container ships will be built. The contract price for each vessel is 1.399 billion yuan, and the total transaction value for this deal amounts to 16.788 billion yuan.

Time to be confirmed: China’s December import and export figures and trade balance; possibly also releasing China’s incremental social financing scale from January to December, new RMB loans, and December’s M2 money supply.

Time to be determined: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) releases its monthly oil market report.

The timing is yet to be determined; the U.S. Supreme Court may issue a ruling on Trump’s tariff case.