Posted on 19 Mar 2021
Writer’s remarks: 2021 is holding a personal significance to me, as this year is the 20th anniversary of me being a steel and metals industry journalist, the career that I have pursued with great passion and full of joy. To mark the special year, in the weeks to come I will interview a few in China’s steel industry who, just like me, have witnessed it evolve, for their own stories and their observations.
All the interviews are my way of paying respect for them and the many like them who have devoted years to the industry, and more importantly, sharing their unique views on China’s steel industry development for the past decades.
Here comes the third interviewee’s story -- by Hongmei Li from Mysteel Global.
If anyone tells you that after more than 20 years in the same job discipline, they don’t feel in any way bored but are intrigued, and still find so much to learn, then they’re probably among the fortunate few who have found their absolute dream job – and one that will turn out to be a lifelong commitment.
Such a person should be envied, as it is rather rare that anyone can find what they like and also earn a living out of it. I must confess that I am among the luckiest, and so is my ferrous industry friend – Mr. X – who has been a steel analyst since 2004.
Twenty-seven years have passed since he started his career analysing steel, yet for the whole duration he has changed but one company, still fascinated by the ferrous world. Whenever we meet up – either for a casual chitchat or a sit-down formal catch-up – market happenings always slip into our conversation, and a few hours are gone before we even notice.
Interestingly, a career in analysis had not been Mr. X’s first choice. Like many others in China in his generation when the country was still partially a planned economy, Mr. X picked up metallurgy as his college major. The study of metals was hotly pursued back then, as the country dreamed of becoming highly industrialized, just as Russia.
When he graduated, he was recruited by China’s Ministry of Metallurgy, working in the steel sector. Just a few years saw Mr. X get to know the fundamentals of the steel industry regarding demand and supply, raw materials and finished steel. He knew the major producers and built up his network of contacts in the industry too, which had all turned out to be valuable for his future career development.
When the ministry was dissolved in the early 2000s and many officials relocated or were reappointed to related associations or enterprises, Mr. X joined a state-owned steel trading house for four to five years to test out the role as a steel trader.
“I do not think I have the personality in me as a trader, so when our steel industry entered the fast lane around 2004-2005, triggering the demand for market intelligence, I grabbed the first opportunity that came to me, joining a market intelligence unit as a steel researcher,” he recalled. “There was no looking back afterwards.”
After a few years, he joined an organization promising a more stable and bigger platform with a far wider reach – but still as a steel analyst. (A data server centre)
“My definition of a ‘good job’ may not be very mainstream, as I am not too obsessed with material gains from my job. I am more trying to achieve a work-life balance, to satisfy my passion and match my capabilities as best I can,” he explained.
“If you ask whether the company has delivered what it promised me, it has got all the checkboxes ticked, so I am here to stay, probably until my retirement,” he said, confessing that he loves research so much that he has opted to stay away from managerial positions.
“I have had past experience being appointed to management roles, but I know myself, and both my personality and my passion are not cut out to manage others. I didn’t enjoy those roles and luckily, the company has honoured my decision, allowing me to work as a senior analyst,” he shared.
“For me, the key to my pleasant working experience and the sense of fulfilment is to stay humble and hungry all the time, so that I embrace all the changes wholeheartedly,” he shared.
In China’s steel industry, knowledge of the fundamentals in the physical market was once sufficient for predicting trends, but with more financial elements being added to the market such as derivatives, more aspects need to be reviewed before any conclusion is drawn, Mr. X pointed out.
“These days, steel analysts need to know about commodities, derivatives, financial and monetary policies, and the correlation between the physical and paper markets,” he remarked, and “all these are making predictions hard, but they’re worth exploring, as the ferrous market is just going through what the oil market has been through, and it doesn’t matter that how senior I am in designation or in age, I will always need to learn, or I will be left behind,” he elaborated.
“There are always new knowledge points for me to grasp, but at the same time, I feel proud that my years of experience have enabled me to learn fast, to get to the essence of some happenings in a shorter term, to have my own perspective,” he told me. “I have always been rectifying my understanding of the market through making mistakes,” he said with pride so evident in his voice.
For him, “research and analysis hold the most attraction in that I have the luxury of time to study the market that has always been changing,” he observed. “And I have never felt bored, but consistently challenged, and the day will never come that I can say I know the industry inside out, because for the past 20 years, no other industries have developed and evolved so much. I could be a bit biased, of course!” he laughed. (Spring in Beijing, by Mr. X)
Mr. X is an eager learner and an experienced analyst, but he is rather shy at proactively sharing his market expertise.
“I think we vary the most in this aspect,” he told me over the phone. “I know you are so willing to share and so keen to nurture a team of journalists, but for me, I am rather passive, I am willing to share only if the receiving end has been sending confirmative signals to me, or I will just leave the others be.”
So, what will be the retirement plan for him? Stay in the same line? “We will see where it goes,” he replied, confirming that he will continue to serve his present company if asked to stay on, or he may devote himself to hobbies such as photography. “I am rather zen on all these, and I do not like to force myself or others,” he said. He really is, as many others may have already worked out what they want to do for their retirement life, especially if there are only two or three years left for the full employment, just as Mr. X.
“Go with the flow” probably is one of the mottos he likes the most, and his last bit of sharing has enlightened me, as when looking back, I have found myself so eager to share, maybe too eagerly, without checking what messages the recipients have been sending to me.
Well, guess I will need a bit of time for meditation, and I may need to learn from my friend Mr. X on how to be more “zen” and “chilled” in my daily work.
The link to Profile One: a Beijing steel trouper for over two decades (https://www.mysteel.net/article/5021533/Profile-One--a-Beijing-steel-trouper-for-over-two-decades.html)
The link to Profile Two: A witness to China’s steel market in 30 years (https://www.mysteel.net/article/5021787/Profile-Two--A-witness-to-Chinas-steel-market-in-30-years.html)
Source:Mysteel Global
