China Resources Recycling Group debuts with Chalco, Minmetals and Baowu as major shareholders

A new state-owned enterprise (SOE) in the People's Republic of China (PRC) called China Resources Recycling Group Co. Ltd. (CRRG) has been launched to create a national platform for recycling and reusing resources. The reports show three of CRRG's key shareholders are prominent metal producers: the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco), China Minmetals Corp, and Baowu Steel Group.

SOEs dominating certain sectors

Over the past three decades, China's steel, aluminium, and copper industries have become the largest globally. While state-owned enterprises (SOEs) dominate certain sectors, private companies and entrepreneurs have played a more prominent role in others. The steel industry, for instance, is primarily controlled by SOEs, and these state firms also hold a significant share of the market in primary aluminium and primary copper production.

Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Chair Xi Jinping stated, "The establishment of the company is an important decision and arrangement made by the CPC Central Committee to perfect an economy that facilitates green, low-carbon and circular development, and advance the building of a beautiful China on all fronts."

Stronger presence in secondary aluminium sector

In contrast, entrepreneurs and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), as the Chinese government refers to them, have a much stronger presence in sectors such as secondary aluminium, recycled-content red metals, and the trading and sorting of recycled metals. A company launch ceremony took place in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. According to the Xinhua report, CRRG will begin with an initial "registered capital" of 10 billion Chinese renminbi ($1.41 billion).

"Efforts must be made to establish a multi-layered and efficient system for recycling and reusing resources, implement a new round of large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods, and build a world-class industrial group specialized in recycling and reusing resources," added one CPC official.

Items to be recycled include

The newly formed company will focus on resource recycling and reuse, taking on the critical responsibility of establishing a national platform in this area. In terms of equity structure, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited, China Petrochemical Corporation, and China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd. each hold a 20 per cent stake. In comparison, Aluminum Corporation of China and China Minmetals Corporation each hold 10 per cent.

The article also highlights that CRRG will engage in various metal recycling activities, including

• recycling used batteries from new-energy vehicles and electric bicycles.
• scrap steel recycling,
• recycling of durable consumer goods like electronic products,
• trade-in services

Additionally, the company will focus on recycling decommissioned wind power and photovoltaic equipment, scrap non-ferrous metals, and the recycling and processing of plastic scrap.