Development status and technology innovation in China cemented carbide industry
Professor Zhou Juqiu, President of the China Tungsten Industry Association &
Mr. Zhang Zhongjian, Vice President of Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group Corporation

China is in a world-leading position in relation to its tungsten reserves, output, exports and internal consumption. In China, tungsten consumption by the cemented carbide industry accounts for 50% of the total, as tungsten is the predominant raw material in the production of cemented carbide.

Since the new China was founded, China’s cemented carbide industry has seen great development and now occupies an important position in the world. China’s cemented carbide output amounted to 16500 metric tonnes in 2007, over 40% of the global total. Also, the varieties of cemented carbide products have continuously increased, such as extra fine and nanoscale cemented carbide, functionally graded alloy and new types of coated cemented carbide. Moreover, industrial technology and equipment have also improved substantially, including spraying drying, net shaping and precision shaping, gas pressure sintering, CVD and PVD coating, the application of CAD/CAM methods etc.
However, China’s cemented carbide industry still lags well below world-leading levels. So, increasing effort must be devoted to promotion of technological innovation, cultivation of high quality standards and development of proprietary core technology.