China steel cuts may make little difference

China’s cabinet says it has “basically completed” its targets this year to reduce excessive production capacity in the nation’s steel and coal sectors, but analysts have questioned whether the government’s campaign will have any real impact. Premier Li Keqiang ordered his ministers and local officials to shut down 45 million tonnes of steel capacity this year, and local officials have declared to Beijing they have done their part. But analyst say as China’s output of crude steel was only 800 million tonnes last year, it meant about 500 million tonnes of production facilities remained idle in 2015 and so shutting down 45 million tonnes of capacity makes little difference to China’s actual steel production, according to the South China Morning Post.