Beijing to shut 2,500 firms this year to fight pollution

Beijing will close 2,500 small polluting firms this year in its latest effort to combat pollution, state news agency Xinhua reports.

Pollution is a sensitive topic in China, with thousands of protests sparked every year by concerns about environmental degradation, particularly from factories. Four districts in the capital, which has been hit by bouts of choking smog this winter, will be required to shut down 2,500 companies by the end of the year, with more scheduled to be closed next year, Xinhua said.

Quoting an unnamed official, it said rising numbers of small polluting sources such as restaurants, hotels and garages offset the impact of a dramatic fall in the number of heavy polluting and high energy-consuming companies in the city