This Day, That Year: July 9

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On July 9, 1949, the Anshan Iron and Steel Co in Anshan, Liaoning province, resumed production. It later became the country's major steel producer.

In 1978, the steel plant produced about 6.9 million metric tons of steel, up from 78,900 metric tons in 1952.

An item from July 25, 1995, in China Daily showed steel rims at the plant waiting for shipment to Japan, the United States, Canada, India and other countries.

In 2010, Panzhihua Iron and Steel was merged with Anshan Iron and Steel Co, paving the way to forge a major steelmaker in China. It was named Ansteel.

According to the World Steel Association, Ansteel was ranked seventh globally last year by production volume.

Steel is vital for industrial growth and Ansteel's rapid development reflects the dramatic change in the sector in the past decades.

In 2005, China's steel imports and exports were virtually in balance.

Last year, the country's steel output climbed above 900 million tons, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. It makes China the biggest steel producing country in the world.

Since the global financial crisis in 2008, China has been witnessing massive overcapacity in its iron and steel sector and has vowed to cut back.

It plans to eliminate up to 150 million tons of crude steel capacity in the five years from 2016. In 2017 alone, the country slashed its crude steel production capacity by more than 50 million tons, exceeding its annual target, as part of efforts to improve the competitiveness of the bloated sector.

The country also phased out the production of 140 million tons of low-quality steel made from scrap metal in 2017.