BEIJING, Aug 31 — China will continue to implement a cap on growth of steel output this year, said the general manager at the country’s biggest listed steelmaker on Thursday, clearing up doubts about whether recent years’ policy would continue.

China, the world’s top steel producer, has enforced a zero growth policy in the industry for the last two years to limit carbon emissions from the polluting industry.

Beijing has not made public a similar target so far this year, raising questions about whether it would be abandoned.

Speaking during a briefing on its first half earnings, Wu Xiaodi, general manager at Baoshan Iron & Steel, confirmed that China will continue to implement the cap.

"This year, there is still the policy to keep steel output flat, and the output this year will not exceed last year’s level,” said Wu.

The company, also known as Baosteel, is owned by state-owned China Baowu Group.

After a year-on-year increase in steel output in the first seven months of the year, China will need to reduce production by between 30 million and 40 million metric tons, added Wu. — Reuters