The Story of Steel in China

As the economy slows in the wake of the real estate boom, China's massive conglomerates are looking to overseas markets with steadier prospects for growth. Recent U.S. and EU tariffs have demonstrated the risk of exporting steel. Instead, several of China's massive steel companies have decided to build on their technical expertise to eventually become full-fledged multinational enterprises, albeit enterprises with the implicit financial backing of Beijing. In the end, the offshoring will not significantly reduce steel overcapacity -- the size of the production moved overseas is too small and, ultimately, Beijing needs to target small, local producers and not conglomerates....