Drive to close obsolete capacity will intensify

China will step up efforts to shutter obsolete industrial capacity as it strives to increase energy efficiency and accelerate its economic transition, said Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei on Tuesday.

A revised list of closures will be released soon, Miao said. MIIT will urge the companies involved to dismantle obsolete equipment so that excess capacity can be eliminated by 2014, a year ahead of schedule.

"The closures will result in issues such as settlements for laid-off workers, loss of assets and dealing with debts. Thus, the move will affect local governments' revenue and employment rates in the short term," Miao told the Xinhua News Agency.