The main competitors of Chinese steel products in the Southeast Asian market are still local steel products. In particular, with the continuous rise of local steel production capacity in recent years, there have been more and more criticisms and taboos on steel products imported from China. Trade protectionism is gaining momentum. rise. In addition, the “spillover effect” of the “232” tariff sanction in the United States is very obvious. Many economies around the world have been “held” by the United States for not being subject to sanctions, and have jointly targeted China in the trade field, making the actual effect of trade protection “leveraged enlarge. However, on the whole, Southeast Asian countries have a relatively stable political environment, a strong willingness to develop the economy, and close economic and trade ties with China. It is unlikely that there will be a wide range of trade disputes with China.

In fact, regarding the attitude of China's import of steel products, Southeast Asian countries can be said to be "love and hate." On the one hand, domestic economic development needs China's high quality and low price steel products as support; on the other hand, it is afraid that a large number of imported steel products will affect the development of the domestic steel industry. The author believes that the iron and steel industry in China and Southeast Asia does not need to be “mutually antagonistic” but can achieve “vertical complementarity”. At present, the development of China's steel industry has attracted worldwide attention and accumulated a lot of experience in technology, production, planning, construction, etc., while the steel market in Southeast Asia is booming, requiring "Chinese experience" as its support, coupled with huge potential market demand. By relying on it, the two sides can fully realize complementary and mutually beneficial win-win development.

At the same time, Chinese steel companies and downstream steel companies can use their financial and technological advantages to use effective financial means to evade potential risks and invest directly in Southeast Asia or establish joint ventures with local companies. In this respect, Japan and South Korea’s steel companies and automobile manufacturers have clearly taken the lead. In many Southeast Asian countries, they have the ability to produce and process automotive plates and special steels, which not only exerts local cost advantages, but also approaches the market. Experience is worthy of reference by Chinese companies. At present, the construction industry and infrastructure construction in countries in Southeast Asia are in short supply of steel, and iron and steel making capacity in the iron and steel industry chain is still obviously insufficient. These are precisely the areas where Chinese steel products and technologies are relatively mature, and they are Chinese steel companies. Giving full play to its own advantages and achieving win-win cooperation in the “One Belt and One Road” has provided a broad space.