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China’s steelmakers face ‘cruel’ reality as ‘harsh’ winter comes for embattled industry

  • China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Friday suspended a steel industry upgrade programme amid slowing demand

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Residential buildings under construction in Jinan in eastern China’s Shandong province. Photo: Bloomberg

China’s industry ministry directed all regions to suspend a steel industry upgrade programme from Friday, with producers facing mounting losses amid a “harsh winter” that is worse than the global financial crisis of 2008.

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The world’s top steel producer has been working to cut capacity within its steel industry for years in a bid to reduce oversupply and pollution.

The replacement programme, introduced in 2015, is aimed at reducing iron and steel capacity by requiring new facilities to be smaller than the ones they replace.

But on Friday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) halted the system as it sought to consult relevant parties to revise the programme.

There had been problems in policy implementation, supervision, as well as “incompatibility with the development situation and demand of the industry”, the MIIT notice said.

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“At present, the supply and demand relationship of the steel industry is facing new challenges,” the notice added.

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