Premier Li Keqiang urged State-owned enterprises to remove excess production capacity and increase quality during a visit to Hubei province on Monday.

Li appointed the Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Co as a pilot SOE to reduce excess capacity and transfer redundant workers to other posts with financial and policy support from the central and local governments.

The company has four subsidiaries with an annual production capacity of nearly 40 million metric tons of iron and steel, ranking fourth around the world.