The Smederevo steel plant in Serbia, once on the verge of closure, was revitalized by a 2016 partnership between China's HBIS Group and the Serbian government under the Belt and Road Initiative.

An admission letter from the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB) made from steel as thin as a cicada's wings has impressed many.

To serve China's dual carbon goals, "greening the process" has become a crucial issue facing the high-quality development of the steel industry.

The projected rise in emissions underscores a critical gap in current sustainability efforts.

It was not possible to obtain a reply from Cleveland-Cliffs to requests for comment by the time of publication.

With advanced technology, a solid industrial foundation, capable talent and favorable policies, steel enterprises in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, are quickly marching toward a smarter and greener stage.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has announced a $143-million investment to establish a research and development (R&D) facility in Western Australia to test the effectiveness of its low-carbon ironmaking process, BioIron.

Currently, disclosures by Chinese companies are largely voluntary and lack uniform standards, according to the ministry.