China is a major producer and exporter of refractory materials in the world. In recent years, driven by
iron and steel, nonferrous metals, cement, glass and other downstream industries, China refractory
material industry has witnessed rapid growth. From 2003-2011, China's refractory material output grew
at an average annual growth rate of 9.0%; the export volume rose at an average annual growth rate of
11.3%.
Among refractory materials, unshaped refractory materials have been promoted vigorously because of
simple production technology, less energy consumption, strong adaptability and other advantages. In
2011, the output of unshaped refractory materials was 11.171 million tons, accounting for 37.9% of
China's total output, up 3.6 percentage points from 2009, but the proportion was still very low
compared with over 50% in developed industrial countries.