China produces over 50% of the world's steel today.

Omissions

• The claim does not specify a time period; the most recent full-year data available at the time of the speech (May 2026) is for 2025, which shows China's share at approximately 52%.
• The claim omits the declining trend: China's share of global steel production has fallen from 54% in 2023 to approximately 52% in 2025, and its absolute output dropped to 960.8 million tonnes in 2025 — a seven-year low — largely due to the property market downturn.
• The MEP did not cite any source for the statistic.

Sources

• PrimaryWorld Steel Association (worldsteel) — World Steel in Figures 2025China produced 1,005.1 million tonnes of crude steel in 2024, ranking first globally. Global total production in 2024 was approximately 1,887 million tonnes, giving China a share of approximately 53.3%.
• SecondaryGMK CenterChina produced 960.8 million tonnes of crude steel in 2025 (-4.4% year-on-year). Global steel production decreased by 2% year-on-year. Calculated share: approximately 52%.
• SecondaryVisual CapitalistChina accounted for 52% of global steel production in 2025, producing more steel than the next 12 countries combined.
• SecondaryEUWID RecyclingChina remained by far the world's largest steel producer in 2025, producing 961 million tonnes despite a year-on-year drop of 4%. Global crude steel output slipped 2% in 2025.
• SecondaryReutersChina's crude steel output in 2025 fell below 1 billion metric tons to a seven-year low.