China takes aim at steel, coal gluts with curbs on land use

Beijing

CHINA will stop approving land to be used for new steel and coal projects as the country seeks to reduce excess capacity, two days after announcing restrictions on investments in a "negative list" of oversupplied industries.

Applications for coal mining will also not be approved for the next three years, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Thursday, and it will widen the scope of law enforcement and punish those who flout the rules.