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Chinese steel mills yet to hear of mandated cuts ahead of September parade

Steelmakers around Beijing have not yet been told to trim production and ensure blue skies ahead of September, when foreign leaders will be in town to attend events marking the end of World War II, industry sources said over the past week.

Plant idlings, if any, are expected to take place on a smaller scale than what was mandated when the capital hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November 2014, mill and trader sources in the surrounding Hebei and Tianjin regions told Platts.

“I don’t think there will be any impact as the military parade would last only one day,” said a steel trader in Tianjin.

“It won’t be like during APEC.”

Another source at Hebei Jinxi Iron & Steel said it had already started to partially cut production in July, mainly because of the plunge in steel prices, and so didn’t expect to face further demands to curb output.

“We weren’t even affected during APEC,” said a source at state-owned Tianjin Iron & Steel Group.

China declared September 3 a national holiday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its victory against Japanese aggression, and said it will invite leaders of countries involved in the war, the United Nations and other international bodies to events including a military parade and cultural performances.

During the November 8-11, 2014, APEC summit, blue skies reigned after the central and local governments mandated traffic controls, production cuts and even a six-day holiday in Beijing to reduce pollution, leading to the coining of the term “APEC Blue.”

Measures for the upcoming anniversary may just remain to be announced judging from precedence, as the first orders were launched only a month before APEC began.

A fourth source at Jianlong Group, which has plants in Hebei’s Tangshan and Chengde, said it may be required to cut output, but expected any downtime to be brief.
Source: Platts