A timely move reverses Qianxi's fortunes

Companies in the steelmaking county shift focus to high value-added products

Qianxi county, in Hebei province's largely industrial city of Tangshan, is firmly on the road to recovery, after seeing many of its pillar iron and steel mills hit hard by the decline in demand and prices since 2008.

Up until then, Qianxi's iron and steel production accounted for 90 percent of local economic growth, making it one of the northern province's top 10 counties, according to Bai Chunming, Qianxi's Party chief.