SHIJIAZHUANG, April 3 (Xinhua) -- China's private steel companies are playing a bigger role in reducing capacity in the industry, according to the sector's chamber of commerce.

China slashed crude steel capacity by more than 50 million tonnes in 2017, with private steel companies contributing 40 million tonnes of the cuts, 80 percent.

In 2016, 65 million tonnes were cut, with 38.8 million tonnes, or 60 percent, from private companies.

The steel price index came in at 121.8 at the end of December, up 22.4 percent from the beginning of the year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

China plans to eliminate 100 million to 150 million tonnes of crude steel capacity in the five years by 2020.