China cuts overcapacity in coal and steel industries

Shuangyashan, China

AFTER protests by unpaid coal miners made headlines around the world last year as China's Parliament was meeting, a US$15 billion assistance fund offered by the ruling Communist Party became a symbol of the government's need to ensure social stability.

As the National People's Congress gathers again a year on, the number of protests has dropped sharply and authorities are promising to create more jobs for workers in China's north-eastern belt, where the employment outlook is more grim than in many other parts of the country.