Chinese Ambassador to UK Demands Joint Efforts to Address Steel Sector Crisis

Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming called on both countries to work together to address the current crisis facing the steel industries of both countries. Liu noted that by blaming each other, we will not find any solution to the problem. He believes that China is being made a "scapegoat".

The Chinese ambassador points out that there are several reasons for the difficulties faced by the British steel industry. Global overcapacity, declining demand and rising production costs from UK smelters remain a key issue.

Chinese steel imports are unlikely to have a significant impact on the UK steel industry. By the way, the share of Chinese steel imports is only a small share of the total steel imports in the UK. The country's share of imports in the UK in 2015 was only 11 percent. Of the 6.66 million tonnes of steel imported into the UK, China only accounted for 760,000 tonnes. In value terms, steel imports from China accounted for only 7.6 percent during the year.

Liu noted that China mainly exports conventional steel rods and plates, which are not competitive with domestic production in the UK. The Chinese steel industry is currently going through an extremely difficult stage, Liu said. He called on the governments of both countries to engage in closer dialogue and cooperation instead of blaming each other for the crisis.