According to the statistics of the China Iron and Steel Association, in 2017, China exported approximately 75.41 million tons of steel, a year-on-year decrease of 33.08 million tons, a decrease of 30.5%; and exports of steel to ASEAN 22.35 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 15.69 million tons, a decrease of 40%. However, even if the export volume drops sharply, ASEAN is still China's largest steel export destination market. In 2017, China's steel exports to ASEAN accounted for 30.8% of total exports.

There are three reasons for the significant reduction in the number of steel exports to ASEAN. First, China has achieved remarkable results in reducing its steel production capacity. Second, the domestic steel market rebounded sharply in 2017, prices have risen steadily, and the export pressure and willingness of steel companies have declined to some extent. The growth of ASEAN’s domestic steel production is exemplified by Vietnam, the largest steel producer in ASEAN. In 2017, Vietnam’s crude steel output reached 11.5 million tons, an increase of 3.8 million tons from 2016, ranking 18th in the world.

China's steel exports to the Southeast Asian region are dominated by rods, wires and plates, and form direct competition with local steel mills in Southeast Asia. At the same time, these are also the main varieties of China's exports to the Southeast Asian market in 2017. The export volume of rods and rods alone was reduced by approximately 12.5 million tons year-on-year, and the volume of sheet exports was reduced by approximately 2 million tons year-on-year. Exports of profiles, tubes, and other materials also have varying degrees of intensity cut back.