Hebei will encourage steel, cement and other heavy industry companies to invest in production capacity abroad and in other part of the country in response to the huge pressure to reduce output in the province.

Many plants in Hebei are operating at reduced capacity because of the need to cut air pollution, and factories elsewhere could make up the shortfall.

However, the production capacity that is transferred should be of good quality, and the initiative should not simply move pollution elsewhere, Jiang Deguo, deputy governor of Hebei, said on Monday.