Cutting output: An employee at a steel factory in Dalian. China has promised to slash steel capacity by 45 million tonnes this year. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: When Beijing ordered hundreds of industrial plants to close ahead of China’s first-ever G20 summit next week, the government wanted to spruce up the host city of Hangzhou and ensure world leaders would gather under clear blue skies.

In doing so, China’s leaders may have given the nation’s stricken steel mills an inadvertent leg-up, helping to restore profitability after a years-long downturn caused by weak prices as a global glut swelled and demand slowed.

Steel prices have jumped as much as 42% since late May, with the unexpected turn in fortunes all the more striking as the health of the global steel industry is set to feature on the G20 agenda amid escalating tensions over Chinese exports.

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