N. China city cuts 32 mln tonnes of steel capacity

SHIJIAZHUANG -- Tangshan, a major steel producing city in North China's Hebei province, has cut 31.9 million tonnes of steel capacity in the past four years, local authorities said Sunday.

Tangshan had a steel capacity of 150 million tonnes before 2013, but its annual output then stood at about 100 million tonnes, the municipal government said.

According to the Hebei provincial government, Tangshan needed to cut 40 million tonnes of steel capacity in the five years to 2017. So far this year, the city has closed 8.3 million tonnes of capacity, meeting its annual target.

China's steel sector has been through years of plunging prices and factory shutdowns. Cutting overcapacity is high on the reform agenda as excess capacity in sectors such as steel and coal has weighed on the country's overall economic performance.

Steel capacity is to be cut by up to 150 million tonnes by 2020,including 45 million tonnes in 2016. Between 2011 and 2015, 90 million tonnes were cut.