Textile and apparel producers benefited from the expiration of restrictive trade agreements, and these sectors along with furniture producers were also disproportionately aided by China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, which allowed the country to take greater advantage of its vast pool of low-skill labor. Heavy industry, such as steel production, benefited from energy and capital subsidies, as well as from reform of state-owned-enterprises (SOEs), whose new profitability translated into a rapid expansion of capacity.