There is little doubt that China will be one of the major growth engines of the world in the new world order and probably that’s why all eyes were on Asian markets during the recent crisis. The Asian markets showcased a tremendous resilience and did not buckle under the pressure emanating from the US and European debt problems. Chinese steel stocks such as General Steel Holdings (NYSE: GSI), China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL) and Sutor Technology Group (NASDAQ: SUTR) were relatively unscathed and what’s more, they were among the first ones to bounce from the mild correction seen during the last 15 -20 days.

General Steel Holdings (NYSE: GSI) is a Chinese group that operates a portfolio of steel companies and produces a large variety of steel products serving a number of industries. Despite the broad portfolio of products, the company is a small cap with a market capitalization of little over $73 million on NYSE. However, General Steel is profitable at its operations and that’s what makes it a desirable stock in one’s long term portfolio. The one month return of the stock stands at a loss of 13 per cent including a 2 per cent rise in the last week. The stock can even surprise on the positive side in its quarterly earnings release today before market opening.

China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL) currently trades at 89 cents per share and has a 52 week range of $0.8 and $2.28. Current P/E ratio of 33.5 may look quite high but it includes the effect of the March quarter too which wasn’t a great quarter for the company. Surprisingly, this high beta stock (2.47) did not show the tendency of jumping or dropping 5-10 per cent on a single day during the last month. The recent months have not been very exciting for the stock but it may be a major beneficiary in the next couple of months in the event of the interest cost cycle reversing in China.

Sutor Technology Group (NASDAQ: SUTR) produces fine finished steel which is primarily used in steel fabrication industry for retail applications. This makes for a good and strong profit margin business. However, the stock has lost nearly a quarter of its value in the last three months and currently trades at $1.04, around 22 per cent up from its 52 week low of $0.85. The positive aspect of this battering was a bounce of 8.5 per cent during the last week and a low P/E ratio of 3.2.

It is quite a difficult thing to imagine global growth without the participation of Chinese basic material companies and actually they are one of the safest bets when it comes to equities.