On February 23, leading Chinese steel group Baosteel signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese steelmaker Shagang Group, as announced by Baosteel chairman Xu Lejiang. The two companies are respectively China's largest state-owned and largest privately-owned steel enterprises.
According to the agreement, the two giant Chinese steel producers will enter into cooperation in the fields of technology, management, production, marketing, resources and logistics. Baosteel is to provide assistance in the areas of technology and management to improve the market competitiveness of both parties, while it will also benefit from Shagang's unique advantages in the market.
In 2009, Baosteel produced 44.57 million mt of steel, while Shagang's production reached 26.40 million mt.