China's steel base Hebei to further cut overcapacity

Hebei province, China's leading producer of iron and steel, will continue with huge overcapacity cuts in 2020 amid an ongoing industrial upgrading, its governor Xu Qin announced Tuesday.

The province plans to cut production capacity of steel and iron by 14 million tons this year, Xu said when delivering a government work report at the opening of the local legislative session.

To fight overcapacity, Hebei will also cut capacity of coal by 6 million tons, carbon coke by 2 million tons and coal-fired power supply by 500,000 kW, he said.

Hebei and several other regions around Beijing are home to major steelmakers, coal mines and chemical plants. They are at the forefront of the country's fight against air pollution.

Hebei is shifting its energy and industry structures from coal and steel to emerging and high-end industries. The province cut production capacity of iron and steel by 14.02 million tons, coal by 10.06 million tons and cement by 3.34 million tons in 2019.