Ch 3.3 How has the location of the iron and steel industry in China changed over time?

Question 1

Name the characteristics of iron and steel industry.

Answer 1

1. Heavy.
2. Capital-intensive.
3. High Tech.
4. Raw material and power-oriented.

Question 2

What are the favourable location factors of the iron and steel industry?

Answer 2

Proximity to large cities.
Proximity to port and railway.
Availability of extensive flat land.
Ease of access to raw materials and power resources.

Question 3

Explain on proximity to large cities.

Answer 3

Large market for iron and steel products like construction and other iron and steel consuming industries. Provide abundant skilled and semi-skilled labour.

Question 4

Explain on proximity to port and railway.

Answer 4

Transport raw materials and finished products. Facilitate import of raw materials and export of product to overseas market.

Question 5

Explain on availability of extensive flat land.

Answer 5

Essential to house the large production plants and machines. Enable expansion of the production plants.

Question 6

Explain on the ease of access to raw materials and power resources.

Answer 6

Raw materials and power resources are heavy and bulky. It helps to reduce transport costs and reduce production costs.

Question 7

Explain on why China is the world’s top steel producer and consumer now.

Answer 7

More demand on iron and steel to produce products like car-making industry.
Rapid urban development required more construction works like building skyscrapers, stadium, bridges and roads.

Question 8

Explain on the spatial distribution of the iron and steel industry before 1950.

Answer 8

Unevenly distributed, concentrated in North-East China, most important one located in the coastal area of An Shan LiaoNing.

Question 9

What are the favourable location factor before 1950?

Answer 9

Proximity to raw materials and power.
Availability of extensive flat land and water for cooling.
Access to markets.
Abundant supply of labour.
Well-developed transport network.

Question 10

Explain on proximity to raw materials and power resources before 1950s.

Answer 10

Iron ore and coal are major raw materials and power resources which are heavy and bulky. The production centre in Anshan could obtain raw materials from coal mines and iron ore fields nearby like coal from Benxi and iron iron ore from Fuxin. Locating near to the sources of raw materials and power can reduce transport and production costs.

Question 11

Explain on availability of extensive flat land and water for cooling before 1950s.

Answer 11

A large piece of flatland was available at the floodplain of LiaoHe. This favoured the development and expansion of the production plants and installation of large machinery. Sea water and river water can be used for cooling process.

Question 12

Explain on access to markets before 1950s

Answer 12

There was a large demand for steel products from the north-east, which was a major centre of heavy industries like shipbuilding in Dalian and car manufacturing industry in Shenyang.

Question 13

Explain on abundant supplies of labour before 1950s.

Answer 13

Northeast China is one of the populous areas in China. Large supply of labour facilitate the development of the industry.

Question 14

Explain on well developed transport network before 1950s.

Answer 14

The railway network was well-developed in the north-east. Extensive railways built by the Japanese, enabled fast and cheap transportation of raw materials and finished products. Ice free port in Dalian was favourable for the import and export of finished products.

Question 15

What is the spatial distribution of iron and steel industry in China during the 1950s to 1970s?

Answer 15

Unevenly scattered in China. Most of the centres can be found in the Central China such as Wuhan, Chongqing, Taiyuan, BaoTou. Some newly-developed in Western China or even remote areas like Urumqi. Inland Shift

Question 16

What are the favourable location factors during 1950s-1970s?

Answer 16

Government policy (Strategic and economic concern)
Access to more raw materials and power resources.
Expansion of railway network.

Question 17

Explain on Government policy (Strategic concern) during the 1950s-1970s.

Answer 17

Five-year plans. At that time the relationships between China and the western countries were tense. Factories in the coastal regions could be easily attacked by enemies. The central government adopted the policy of “Moving Industries into the inland regions” (Decentralization) in order to protect its industries and lower the risk to national security.

Question 18

Explain on Government policy (Economic concern) during the 1950s-1970s.

Answer 18

The levels of economic development and living standard in the inland regions were low. Setting up iron and steel production centres there can boost the local economic development, promote regional self-sufficiency, more people were attracted to move there to relieve the overpopulation.

Question 19

What are the 5 year plans?

Answer 19

New iron and steel works were set up in inland regions.
1st Five Year Plan (1953-1957) Xian, Chongqing, Wuhan.
2nd Five Year Plan (1958-1970s) Urumqi, Kunming, Panzhihua.

Question 20

Explain on the access to more raw materials and power resources during the 1950s and 1970s.

Answer 20

Rich untapped raw materials (iron ore fields) and power resources (coalfields) in the inland regions provided a great potential to develop industries.

Question 21

Explain on the expansion of railway network during the 1950s and 1970s.

Answer 21

Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway to Urumqi increased the accessibility of Western China which allows extraction of raw materials and power in remote areas.

Question 22

What are the favourable location factors during the 1980s to early 2000s?

Answer 22

1. Government policy.
2. Domestic market.
3. Abundant supply of skilled labour.
4. Technological and transport advancement.
5. Extensive flatland and water for cooling.
6. Industrial agglomeration.

Question 23

Explain on government policy during 1980s-2000s.

Answer 23

Under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China began to reform its economy in 1978 by changing from a command economy to a market economy. Open policy encouraged overseas investors to invest in the coastal regions and encouraged industrial development in the coastal regions. “Have some regions developed first” chose coastal regions for this purpose.

Question 24

Explain on domestic market during the 1980s-2000s.

Answer 24

Coastal regions with important heavy industrial centres demand a large amount of steel as raw materials. Large cities with growing population and the booming construction industry demand for a larger amount of steel products such as electrical appliances and private cars. Locating near the markets can save the transport costs.

Question 25

Explain on the abundant supply of skilled labour during the 1980s-2000s.

Answer 25

Coastal industrial centres provide a large pool of skilled labour.

Question 26

Explain on the technological and transport advancement during the 1980s-2000s.

Answer 26

With better technologies, scrap iron and steel can be used as substitutes in steel production can reduce the demand for iron ore.
Iron and steel works tend to be located near coastal cities where the supply of these substitutes is sufficient.
Well developed port facilities and railway facilities the import of raw materials from other countries and the export of steel product overseas. The use of bulk carriers and advancement in rail transport increase the capacity of vessels and trains can lower the per unit transport costs of coal or iron ore.
Due to the technological and transport advancements, the iron and steel industry is no longer necessary to tie to the sources of raw materials and power resources.

Question 27

Explain on the extensive flat land and water for cooling during the 1980s-2000s

Answer 27

Extensive flat land in the coastal regions favours the building large production plants. Expansion of the plants is also possible by creating land through reclamation. There is an abundant supply of cooling water.

Question 28

Explain on industrial agglomeration during the 1980s-2000s.

Answer 28

Sharing infrastructure and supporting services. Increasing the bargaining price in negotiating favourable terms with the government. Lowering the transport costs between the iron and steel works and it associated industries. Facilitating the flow of market and technical information. Enjoying an already well-established linkage with business partners. Attracting investment with great market reputations. Developing a pool of skilled labour, lowering the production costs and increase profits.

Question 29

What are the favourable locational factors since the 2000s?

Answer 29

Raw materials, market, transport network and government policy.

Question 30

Explain on raw materials since the early 2000s.

Answer 30

The supply of coal in China cannot meet the demand and the local iron ore of China is relatively low grade, hence there is import.

Question 31

Explain on market since the early 2000s.

Answer 31

Industrialization and urbanization have been rapid in South China. The demand for steel products is large like construction and iron and steel consuming industries.

Question 32

Explain on transport network since the early 2000s.

Answer 32

More favourable for the iron and steel industry to be located near port facilities and with an efficient transport network like the coast east and south.

Question 33

Explain on the government policies since the early 2000s.

Answer 33

Local government have provided favourable policies to promote the development of the iron and steel industry. Relocating the iron and steel production plants due to environmental concerns. The plants of the Shougang Group had been moved to Caofeidian in 2010. Closing the inefficient iron and steel production plants due to environmental concerns. The plants in BaiHeDong, Guangzhou was forced to shut down. The modern production centre in Zhanjiang has taken up the production capacity. Convert the land to other land uses due to land scarcity.

Question 34

State the definition of industrial inertia.

Answer 34

Industrial inertia is a phenomenon of an industry still location in places that most of its original location advantages disappear.

Question 35

Why do some iron and steel works remain in their original locations?

Answer 35

1. Huge investment in facilities and infrastructure especially in immovable heavy machinery.
2. Huge cost for relocation.
3. Avoid possible adverse impact on the society.
4. Loss of skilled labour -> time cost and production cost in training new labour.
5. Local markets are available at the existing location.
6. Government incentives for industries to stay in the original regions.