Item from Aug 5, 1992, in China Daily: A smiling Deng Xiaoping, China's senior leader, accompanied by Zhou Guanwu, chairman of the Shougang Group, visited the company on May 22. ...

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has decided to give more freedom to the company, one of the country's largest steelmakers.

The corporation has been allowed to set up its own bank and other businesses. ...

Its annual steel output would soon hit 10 million metric tons.

A foundry of Hebei Iron and Steel Group Co Ltd in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Last year, China's steel output fell for the first time in decades as the economy shifted gear from double-digit growth to 6.9 percent in 2015, hurting industry profits and forcing factories to close.

Crude steel production dipped by 1.1 percent year-on-year to nearly 400 million tons in the first half of the year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) requires total capacity to be cut by 150 million tons.

Bloomberg recently reported that the country is considering a sweeping overhaul of its steel industry that would consolidate major producers into two giants, with one located in the north and the other in the south.

Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp and Wuhan Iron and Steel Group Corp would be merged into Southern China Steel Group, while Shougang Group and Hebei Iron and Steel Group would be combined into Northern China Steel Group.