During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, steel enterprises that fail to meet environmental standards will be phased out of the market.

China Securities News reports that, at the Sixth China Steel Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Forum held on June 29, it was announced that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the steel industry will be a key focus of environmental governance. In tandem with China’s efforts to reduce excess capacity, steel enterprises that fail to meet environmental standards will gradually be phased out of the market.

　　According to a June 29 report by the Legal Daily, experts at a forum stated that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, while advancing industrialization, China will place greater emphasis on ecological civilization. At present, the country has yet to break free from a resource‑intensive, high‑emission, and inefficient development model; for instance, energy efficiency in the steel industry lags behind international best practices by nearly 10 percentage points. Going forward, the scale of steel enterprises will be subject to strict controls, and the sector is expected to transition to low‑growth or even contractionary development. The share of coal in energy consumption will decline, and companies that fail to meet environmental standards will gradually be phased out of the market.