On February 8, the municipal government of Anshan City in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning signed a cooperation agreement with local steelmaker Anshan Steel covering the current year.
According to the agreement, the Anshan City authorities will fully support Anshan Steel's exploitation of mineral resources aimed at meeting its development requirements; they will support Anshan Steel's production structure ranging from carbon steel and low alloy steel production to special steel production; they will also encourage Anshan Steel to develop its direct reduction process for iron smelting as well as its other developments in iron making. Meanwhile, Anshan Steel will increase its investment in Anshan City and is to continue to support economic development and construction in the city.