Industrial downsizing: How can China address overcapacity in steelmaking?

According to Wood Mackenzie's forecast, China's crude steel production will fall from 1,018 Mt in 2022 to 798 Mt by 2050, leaving up to 220 Mt of previously operating capacity sitting idle or being shut down. This idle capacity raises the question: how will China deal with this overcapacity? Through this insight, we critically examined different strategies including production curbs, capacity swaps, supply-side structural reforms, industry consolidations and export restrictions – necessary to resolve the industry’s pain point of steelmaking overcapacity.