A steel production workshop owned by Baogang Group, the largest steel company in Inner Mongolia autonomous region [Photo/Baotou Daily]

The steel industry is one of the five pillar industries in Baotou, North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region -- along with the rare earth, aluminum, equipment manufacturing and electricity industries.

Among the five pillar industries, the steel industry ranks first.

According to statistics released by the Baotou statistics bureau, in 2019 the added value of the steel industry in the city showed year-on-year growth of 8.9 percent.  

In order to further accelerate its industrial transformation and upgrading, Baotou issued the Guiding Opinions on Further Accelerating Baotou’s Industrial Transformation and Upgrade and the Construction of Industrial Parks. In it, a series of development directions and safeguard measures have been formulated.

The city is home to leading companies including the Baogang Group, the largest steel company based in the autonomous region.

Amid the overcapacity of the steel industry and the difficulties it faced in adapting its product structure to changes in the market, Baogang Group has pushed ahead and introduced its own structural adjustments and built an integrated production line for rare earth steel sheet iron steel rolling at international advanced levels.

Currently, Baogang Group has the ability to produce high-end products such as automobile plates, high-grade pipeline steel and high-strength structural steel.