BEIJING: China's central Henan province churned out more aluminium than neighbouring Shandong for the first time in years, becoming the nation's top producing region, according to data published on Monday.
Henan produced 12.12 million tonnes of aluminium products in 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics data (NBS) showed, making it China's top aluminium province for the year ahead of Shandong at 10.67 million tonnes.
Shandong is home to the world's largest producer of the metal, China Hongqiao Group.
Henan took the lead after Hongqiao and another Shandong-based producer, Xinfa Group, were ordered to close a combined 3.21 million tonnes of illegal capacity last year.
The last time Henan produced more aluminium than Shandong in a calendar year was 2011, the NBS data show. That year Henan output stood at 5.28 million tonnes versus 4.35 million tonnes for Shandong.
The NBS data illustrates how Beijing's intensifying crackdown on pollution and efforts to streamline bloated industries is transforming the nation's industrial landscape.
Shandong, an industrial and agricultural heartland, was a major focus of the government's environmental inspections last year.
Last week, data showed China's aluminium production in December hit its highest since June 2017, reversing five months of declines, as state-owned Chinalco launched new capacity in Inner Mongolia and in the southern province of Guangxi, regions that were not required to cut capacity under the pollution crackdown.
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