The Tangshan steel industry is showing obvious signs of recovery since February, according to mayor Chen Guoying.

Chen told China Daily on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the National People's Congress that the support plan for the industry has started to take effect.

Industrial output of the city's steel industry grew by 16 percent year-on-year in January and kept a steady growth in the first half of February, he said. The tendency towards recovery has remained unchanged since late February despite prices declines in the international steel market.