China's Hebei province plans to cut its annual crude steelmaking capacity by 40 million tonnes in three years' time, provincial party secretary Wang Dongfeng said at a meeting discussing capacity cuts on Wednesday July 4, according to the country's national news agency Xinhua.
Three cities in what is China's largest steel-producing province - Baoding, Zhangjiakou and Langfang - will be cleared of steel production facilities by 2020. Another two cities - Chengde and Qinhuangdao - will see their crude steelmaking capacity reduced by 50%, Wang said. The number of steelmakers will fall to around 60, with the largest 15 of them accounting for 90% of the province's total steelmaking capacity, he added.Hebei produced 191.21 million tonnes of crude steel in 2017, accounting for 23% of the national total, according to the province's local steel association. "The capacity cut [of 40 million tonnes per year] will lead to lower supply from Hebei, but whether this capacity will...