Economic growth in China’s Hebei province slowed to 4.2% in the first quarter from 9.2% a year earlier as its steel industry took a hit from newly introduced pollution curbs, Bloomberg reported. The central government has ordered many of Hebei’s polluting steel factories to reduce capacity, in effect, closing them down. The slowdown in Hebei’s expansion underscores the impact of the government’s campaign to reduce industrial overcapacity and contamination of the environment. Hebei, which surrounds the Chinese capital Beijing, is the country’s biggest steelmaking region.
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