China will phase out 27m tpy of obsolete capacity in 2014, premier says

A total of 27 million tpy of obsolete steel capacity will be phased out in China this year to ensure that the targets set in the country’s twelfth five-year plan can be met a year ahead of schedule.

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said this on Wednesday March 5 at the opening of the second session of the twelfth National People’s Congress, China’s parliament.

Beijing set a target to shut down 48 million tpy of steelmaking and ironmaking capacity when it announced its twelfth five-year plan in 2011. In March 2013, it urged that the target be reached by the end of 2014.

Higher standards for environment protection, energy consumption and technology should be imposed on industries facing severe overcapacity. Policies that benefit such industries ought to be rescinded, Li said.

He also reiterated Beijing’s resolution to curb pollution, saying that forceful measures should be taken to tackle the problem.