A Global Downturn Puts the Brakes on China’s Industry

MA’ANSHAN, China — The Ma’anshan Iron and Steel Company recently opened a giant $3 billion steel mill on the outskirts of this city. The mill, which covers one and a half square miles and has its own power plant and shipping port, was built to help meet China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for growth.

But during what should have been a peak production period two weeks ago, it was silent. Rolls of coiled steel sat near the end of a long assembly line as a few helmeted workers lounged about, playing with their mobile phones. Three blast furnaces and a line that produces H-beams for construction were also temporarily shuttered here at Ma’anshan, about an hour west of Nanjing. More...

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