China's steel production has demonstrated strong trend of moving toward coastal areas as a number of major steel facilities have been constructed in the area, according to a report issued by the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC).

     NDRC has recently approved a number of key steel projects to be constructed in the coastal areas of Hebei, Liaoning and   Guangdong provinces as well as the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

     The steel industry has stepped up enterprise alliance, merger and acquisition this year.

     One example is East China's Shandong Province, where two 10-million-ton steel enterprises had combined into Shandong Steel Group Co.

     Another example is North China's Hebei Province, where the newly established Hebei Steel Group Co. has formed an annual production capacity of more than 31 million tons.

     Preparation is well underway for building iron and steel production bases in Guangdong's Zhanjiang and Guangxi's Fangchenggang, both in South China.

     Essential progress is being made in the integration between Baoshan Steel Group and Wuhan Steel Group, and between Wuhan Steel Group and Guangxi steel enterprises.