On the banks of the Hutuo River, a glorious chapter was written—let me share the story of Jingye’s dedication. Back in 1998, amid the global financial crisis, Jingye Group mounted a vigorous counteroffensive, seizing the opportunity to strengthen its capabilities and achieve rapid growth. So, during that rare period of robust market expansion, how did Jingye Group seize the moment and propel itself into leapfrog development?

The year 2001 marked the first year of China’s implementation of the Tenth Five-Year Plan. Driven by national policies, steel demand remained robust, steel prices stayed relatively high, and industry profitability improved markedly.

But at that time, the enterprise had only three small iron‑making blast furnaces and no steel‑making facilities, leaving it helplessly watching steel prices soar.

At the time, the steel industry was sharply bifurcated: private firms clustered in the low‑end ironmaking segment, while large state‑owned steelmakers dominated the high‑value‑added steelmaking sector. It was like a mixed‑species fish tank: the big fish at the top feasted without a care, while the smaller fish below scrambled for scraps—and Jingye was precisely that fish trapped at the bottom.

Should he settle for the status quo, clinging to his small blast furnace and contenting himself with a modest foothold in a minor county town, running a staid, risk‑averse little enterprise? Or should he defy fate, break into the upstream segments of the industry, and take on the major steelmakers head‑on? Should he stick to crude processing, playing the role of a subcontractor for others, or grit his teeth, surmount technical hurdles, and venture into the high‑margin steelmaking business? After a series of such soul‑searching questions, Li Ganpo had long since found his answer: he would be the fish that shatters its shackles and swims toward the upper echelons.

In fact, the idea of entering the steel‑making business had been brewing in Li Ganpo’s mind as early as 1999. That May, he registered a steel company to lay the groundwork for his venture—like a dormant seed biding its time. In 2001, with China’s accession to the WTO and the promising start of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, a 150‑billion‑yuan treasury bond‑driven infrastructure push sent steel demand soaring, ushering in a golden age for the industry. Li Ganpo knew the moment had arrived.

One day in June 2001, Li Ganpo convened three key executives in his office. Without any unnecessary pleasantries, he got straight to the point: “Having iron without steel won’t do, and having steel without raw materials won’t do either. Now is the perfect time for us to launch our steel‑making project!” Ever since its inception, Jingye has cultivated a corporate culture of “swift response and immediate action.” Li Ganpo rarely puts forward ideas lightly; when he does, it is always after careful deliberation and thorough preparation.

As Executive Vice President Wang Guotai later recalled: “For decisions of this magnitude, some companies would spend a month debating them. We, by contrast, would convene a meeting with just three or four people, make an immediate decision on the spot, assign responsibilities right away, and get to work at once. When challenges arose, Chairman Li would roll up his sleeves and shoulder the burden alongside us, working together to find solutions.” There was no dissent—only a shared resolve to pull together.

A steelmaking construction site under development

Li Ganpo raised his voice and reaffirmed his confidence: “Development is the bottom line. Ironmaking is merely low‑level processing; the only way to break through is to move into steelmaking! With the market now on the upswing, if not now, when?” He looked ahead: “We’ve reached where we are today thanks to development—staying stuck with a single blast furnace would have left us obsolete long ago. 500,000 tons of steel production is just the first step; we must reach one million tons within three years to secure our foothold.”

These words ignited the executives’ fighting spirit, and they quickly regrouped, calmly strategized, and finalized a plan: to build a 30‑ton converter capable of producing 500,000 tons of steel billets annually. For Jingye, this marked an entirely new climb. Led by Li Ganpo, this team of indomitable individuals seized the momentum of the times and relied on their bold drive to make a powerful leap into the steelmaking industry, writing a tale of breakthrough and resilience.

However, will the 500,000‑ton steelmaking project be completed on schedule, and can Jingye successfully break free from the industry’s constraints to achieve leapfrog development? We’ll continue sharing more inspiring stories of Jingye employees uniting as one to overcome adversity in our next installment!