"Taking a controlling stake in Chongqing Iron and Steel is one of the latest acquisitions and consolidations China Baowu has made in the past few years since it unveiled the target of expanding its capacity to 100 million tons by 2021," Wang Guoqing, director of the Lange Steel Information Center, told English-language newspaper China Daily. 

ArcelorMittal in 2018 produced 96.4 million metric tons of steel and Baowu produced 67.4 million metric tons, according to World Steel Association data.

But Baowu acquired a controlling stake in Maanshan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. last summer, which helped push its output up. According to company chairman Chen Derong, Baowu made 96 million metric tons in 2019.