According to the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, all steel producers in the province will achieve ultra-low emissions standards by the end of 2020. This also means that the production of steelmakers in Jiangsu Province will no longer be affected by restrictions, Kallanish notes.

At present, the only steel mill in Jiangsu province that has completed the ultra-low emissions transformation is Zenith Iron & Steel. Jiangsu announced in 2018 it will complete the ultra-low emission transformation of 11.26 million tonnes/year of steel capacity, which mainly includes Zenith's capacity. China’s Minister of Ecology and Environment previously pointed out that about 80% of blast furnaces in Jiangsu needed to be upgraded and replaced.

In 2019, Jiangsu Province's crude steel production was 120.17 million tonnes, up by 15% year-on-year. Crude steel production in the first two months of 2020 reached 17.82mt, down by -3.4% compared with the same period of 2019.