China plans to step up consolidation of its steel sector this year by closing small mills and improving production standards, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said (MIIT) Tuesday.

Li Yizhong, minister of the MIIT, said in Dalian that steel enterprises would be held to tougher environmental and resource consumption standards and would also be forced to control overcapacity and shut down obsolete facilities.

In a new policy document, the MIIT reiterated China's pledge to eliminate mills that produced less than 1 million tons of crude steel last year, while manufacturers of higher end steel will have to produce more than 300,000 tons a year to stay in business.