A steel manufacturing firm in Taizhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, is busy making supporting equipment for overseas mining. Photo: cnsphoto

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) released an official report on Thursday targeting steel smelting projects in an effort to push the steel industry to achieve carbon neutrality and promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development. 

The construction of steel smelting projects must meet the requirements of advanced technology and equipment as well as leading indicators in the steel industry to achieve green and intelligent development, according to the NDRC's report, adding that pollutant emissions should meet the strict requirements. 

This move aims to upgrade China's steel industry and reduce the energy consumption in steel production, Lin Boqiang, dean of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Steel production has been rising fast recently. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the national output of pig iron, crude steel and steel from January to March reached 220.97 million tons, 271.04 million tons and 329.40 million tons respectively, a year-on-year increase of 8 percent, 15.6 percent, and 22.5 percent. 

The country has long been pushing development in the green economy with an ambitious goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.

Global Times