Beijing Shougang steel company, one of the capital's worst polluters, will close a key production plant early next year in time for the Olympics.

According to a plan approved by the State Council and announced in local media, Shougang will maintain production capacity of four million tons during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but its operations will have to conform to strict government guidelines. No. 3 Steel Plant, which came on stream in 1992 and has an annual production capacity of three million tons, will be the first group plant to completely halt production.

The Chinese government promised to make Beijing an "ecological city" with "green hills, clear water, grass and blue skies" after it won the 2008 Olympics bid, and it is trying to live up to that promise. It is unclear if these guidelines will be maintained once the Olympics finish.

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