China will intensify the elimination of outdated and excessive steel and coke capacity, and continue to control coal consumption in major areas in the coming three years, the State Council said on Tuesday.
The State Council's announcement is the final version of the country's 2018 to 2020 anti-pollution plan. The plan will expand procedures, such as closing industrial capacity, to clean the air to 82 cities across China from the 28 cities in Hebei province and the cities of Tianjin and Beijing that were subject to the rules previously.
The western Provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi, the central province of Henan, and the eastern provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, along with the region around Shanghai will be included in the new plan.
No new capacity for steel, coke and primary aluminum production will be allowed in the expanded regions through 2020, the State Council, the equivalent of China's cabinet, said.
The Council also set a cap for steel capacity in Hebei province, the country's largest steelmaking province, at 200 million tonnes by 2020.
The country will continue to launch anti-pollution measures during the autumn and winter seasons and control total coal consumption in major area from 2018 to 2020, the State Council said.
Firms in the steel, aluminum and cement industries in the 28 northern cities previously under the anti-pollution action were ordered to cut as much as 50 percent of their production capacity from October to March.
The State Council also set an annual production and sales target for new energy vehicles at around 2 million vehicles by 2020 to reduce road emissions as part of the plan.
