Innovation to Navigate Turbulence,
Forging Ahead amid Transformations
, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning! First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of you for coming to the WCA Annual Conference and for your continued support over the past ten years! In its latest World Economic Outlook Report released on April 14, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its forecast for world economic growth in 2026 by 0.2% to 3% from January's forecast. World economic growth will fall to 2.5% this year, and global inflation will climb to 5. In extreme cases, world economic growth may fall to 2% in 2026.
At this historic moment full of uncertainties, we welcome the 10th anniversary of the founding of the World Cement Association and the WCA Bangkok Conference. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the following three points of understanding:
Industry situation: Shift
of focus World cement production in 2025 37. The import and export volume of cement and clinker is 2. The maritime trade volume is 165 million tons. Year-on-year increase 9. In 2025, there were 36 large-scale mergers and acquisitions in the cement industry, involving 50 million tons of cement production capacity, a year-on-year decrease of 51. In 2025, the world's total cement production capacity was 68. The production capacity of the top 10 cement enterprises was 22. In the list of the world's top 10 cement enterprises, Chinese and Indian cement enterprises accounted for 8 seats.
In 2025, China's cement output was 1.693 billion tons, although it decreased by 6. India's UltraTech Cement entered the fourth place in the world with a cement production capacity of 198 million tons; India's Adani Cement has a cement production capacity of 1. This indicates that India's cement industry, the second largest in the world, has entered a period of rapid development. The focus of
world cement has shifted to Asia, and the Asia-Pacific region continues to dominate the global cement market.
Post-war reconstruction:
The four-year war between Russia and Ukraine, the high-intensity conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran, and the post-war reconstruction will severely impact the cement market in the Middle East and the world from four dimensions: the destruction of the supply side, the interruption of the transport chain, the surge in demand side, and the overall rise in costs. Form a situation of short-term price surge and medium and long-term regional supply and demand pattern reconstruction.
Iran is the largest cement producer in the Middle East and the fourth largest in the world, with an annual cement production capacity of about 100 million tons. Before the war, the actual output was about 60 million tons, and the annual export was about 10 million tons. The war destroyed tens of thousands of buildings, thousands of kilometers of roads, as well as power stations, water plants and docks. Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Yemen need to be rebuilt, and with Iran, the Middle East will become the world's largest cement gold-absorbing area. It is estimated that the demand for new cement will reach 20-30 million tons per year in the next 10 years.
Faced with the abnormal surge of short-term and local demand, we should clearly see that the rebound of cement demand and price caused by post-war reconstruction is not a natural reflection of market demand. It should be clearly recognized that the huge overcapacity of cement production along the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and East Asia, as well as the mature supply chain foundation of global cement and clinker trade, will affect the continuous supply and stable demand for hot regional cement markets. The industry should maintain a cautious and rational attitude and face the sudden change of the market. Innovation in
the industry: Looking forward to Thomas Edison Innovation in the
industry is an eternal topic. Innovation in the new era will continue to break through in the directions of deep decarbonization, circular economy, digitalization, intelligent manufacturing and lightweight application of equipment. Competition in the industry will continue to play games in the dimensions of regional differentiation, technological leadership, green transformation, and business model innovation, and promote the transformation of the industry to net zero emissions and sustainable development.
1. New low-carbon cement products will become the mainstream
of the market. Enterprises are investing in green cement, including low clinker cement, new cementitious materials (such as geopolymer cement), carbon negative emission cement, etc., so as to reduce the carbon footprint. The world's first LC3 clay calcination production line coupled with the old line, which was built and put into operation by CBMI in SPL plant in France and won the WCA annual award, has made a revolutionary demonstration. Compared with traditional cement, the production cost is reduced by 25%, the clinker coefficient can be reduced to 50%, the carbon emission reduction can be reduced by 40%, and the energy consumption can be reduced by more than 8%.
2. The use rate of alternative fuels will further increase, becoming an important means
of carbon reduction in the cement industry. Enterprises are transforming from traditional production modes to innovative low-carbon processes, alternative fuels and sustainable raw materials, which reflects the growing emphasis on reducing emissions, protecting natural resources and creating environmentally friendly building materials.
3. CBAM has a profound
impact on global trade. CBAM has entered the implementation stage in 2026, forcing exporters and importers of cement and clinker to start considering decarbonizing their supply chains in emerging markets in order to maintain their long-term market opportunities for exporting cement and clinker to developed countries. CCUS technology is regarded as an important means to achieve deep decarbonization in the cement industry and is expected to become the most important green cement technology by 2030.
4. The cement industry should be more deeply integrated into the circular economy system
, such as the resource utilization of construction waste, the co-disposal of industrial by-products such as carbide slag, red mud, coal gangue and copper slag, and the extension of product life cycle, so as to realize the transformation from linear economy to circular economy.
5. Digital and intelligent technology will be fully penetrated
. The progress of digital technology is expected to bring about efficiency improvement, and the production process efficiency in some areas has increased by more than 30%. Developments in automation, smart manufacturing, and data-driven decision-making are improving efficiency and reducing costs. In the next three years, artificial intelligence, digital twin, Internet of Things and other technologies will achieve breakthroughs in the following areas: precise control and optimization of production process, predictive maintenance of equipment, intelligent management of supply chain, and traceability of the whole process of product quality.
6. Lightweight
of equipment in the cement industry The traditional equipment in the cement industry, which is silly, big, clumsy and rough, should focus on lightweight from the four levels of material, structure, system and mode, bringing opportunities for innovation, cost reduction and efficiency enhancement in the whole chain to the industry. Its core is weight reduction, energy saving, efficiency improvement, longevity, intelligence and modularization. To
innovate, we should review the industrial culture of repeated trial and error in factories and promote the rapid application of technological research and development achievements in laboratories. In practical application, optimization and improvement are carried out through error correction, and the transfer of R & D mode is carried out, which essentially realizes the displacement of the right center of industrial civilization. The WCA Annual Award to be presented at this annual meeting includes not only the world's first application practice of a certain technology, but also the comprehensive transformation and upgrading of a 30-year-old factory. The industry needs not only laboratory results and improvements, but also revolutionary innovations and practices. Be Thomas Edison and take the step from zero to one.
Dear colleagues: The cruelty of war and the ubiquity of superimposed AI have put us in the most violent period of multi-dimensional violence since World War II. Hard times make the strong, the strong create the times of ease, the times of ease breed the weak, and the weak will usher in hard times. The cycle of the times makes us seemingly unable to get rid of and choose, we can only face the challenges, the growing needs of customers, the diverse expectations of society, and maintain a keen insight. With vigorous fighting spirit, full passion and innovative spirit, we are living towards death in the struggle.
浙公网安备33010802003254号