Internet platforms can help resolve the overcapacity problems of the nation's steel industry, which is burdened by losses as it copes with a slowing economy, according to senior officials.

Gan Yong, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chairman of the China Iron and Steel Research Institute Group, said last week during the two sessions that some leading domestic companies such as Baoshan Iron and Steel Co, the nation's largest listed steelmaker, is investing in such an Internet platform.

These sites can be a gathering point for the steel producers, as well as the suppliers, end-users, financial institutes, technology providers, designers, trading companies and logistics organizations that serve the sector.