China steel industry calls for science-based approach to restricted-category equipment

China's steel industry has called for a science-based approach to restricted-category equipment under the Guiding Catalogue for the Adjustment of Industrial Structure (2024 Edition), and voiced concern over the blanket approach by some local governments to mechanically force steelmakers to expand such equipment or retire it, stated China Metallurgical News (CMN), the official media outlet of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), in a release issued on November 11.

CMN argued that such measures treat restricted-category equipment under the Catalogue as eliminated-category equipment subject to mandatory phase-out. This goes beyond policy requirements and could impose unnecessary investment burdens on enterprises, risk further capacity expansion in the sector, and hinder the market-based exit of steel capacity. The Catalogue classifies technologies