Chinese government transforming Beijing

BEIJING, July 19 (UPI) -- Capital Steel, the biggest polluter in Beijing, has relocated to help clean the city's air ahead of the Summer Olympic Games, officials said.

Already three of the company's blast furnaces have been idled, while a fourth furnace will shut down Sunday, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

The plant's closure and relocation to an island off the Chinese coast is just one of several government moves to cut industrial air pollution across five provinces. Cars in the city also have been restricted to use on alternate days.

Capital Steel's move is part of a much bigger plan to make Beijing the political, financial and cultural hub for China.

Zhu Jimin, Capital Steel's chairman, said the closure represented a shift to a "21st century city" in which Beijing would refocus on its "traditional roles" as an international metropolis.