A labourer marks steel bars at a steel and iron factory in Huai’an, Jiangsu province, February 18, 2008. China plans to cut its steel production capacity this year by 45 million tonnes and lower coal output capacity by 280 million tonnes, the head of the country’s top economic planner said on Sunday. The capacity cuts will involve relocating 700,000 workers in the coal sector, and 180,000 workers in the steel industry, Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the World Economic Forum in the northern city of Tianjin. Xu said he was very confident that China will achieve the 2016 targets. “The most urgent task is reducing excess capacity,” Xu said. “I’m very confident that we can achieve the targets.” China has vowed to tackle price-sapping supply gluts in major industrial sectors, and said in February that it would close 100 million-150 million tonnes […]