President Xi Jinping’s big push to curb pollution and excess capacity in steel and other industries is also consolidating his government’s control over them.
Just last year, the state’s share of steel capacity increased to 67 per cent from 60 per cent while aluminum smelting saw about an equal increase, J Capital Research Ltd. estimates. In coal, which began consolidating years earlier, the government now controls 80 per cent of capacity compared with about 45 per cent in 2010, according to the Hong Kong-based firm.
Xi’s campaign has boosted corporate profits, ended years of deflation, and stabilized debt growth to help underpin