Shandong to cut steel, iron capacity, state media says

China's eastern Shandong province plans to relocate or cut a total of 21.41 million tons of steelmaking capacity and 22.38 million tons of ironmaking capacity by 2022, the state-backed China Metallurgical News reported on Monday, Reuters said.

The local government aims to cut 4.65 million ton of steel capacity this year and the remaining 16.76 million tons in 2022, the report said.

Steel capacity in cities among regions that could affect air quality in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, such as Binzhou and Zibo, should all be relocated or eliminated "in principle", according to the China Metallurgical News.

Shandong is the third biggest steel producer in China. The province churned out 79.94 million tons of crude steel in 2020, accounting for 7.5 percent of the country's total output.