China's cement industry to face tougher emission rules

China's cement industry has already struggled with weak demand amid faltering economic recovery. The industry's profits plunged 29 percent year on year in the first quarter, according to data from the China Cement Association (CCA).

Moreover, the National Development and Reform Commission has listed the cement sector, along with the steel, electrolytic aluminum, sheet glass and hard coke sectors, as having especially serious overcapacity problems.

Experts believe that in setting a higher industry standard, the new policy will weed out unsustainable capacity.

Amid deliberations over the new standards, China's local governments have been pressuring cement factories to install denitrification facilities.

In 2011, the Sichuan provincial government said power would be cut for cement plants that fail to achieve the NOx emissions target set by the provincial government for the 2011-2015 period.