Ambassador Zhang Ming: The media circulated the story of "the Chinese government subsidizes the steel industry", but it is just a story

Source: Overseas Network

According to the WeChat public account of the Chinese mission to the European Union, on November 10, 2021, Ambassador Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese mission to the European Union, was interviewed by Sam Fleming, the Brussels bureau chief of the Financial Times, and reporter Andy Bounds. Some of the transcripts are as follows:

FT: As far as steel is concerned, one reason why the EU will say that imports from China are declining is that China has invested in steel production in countries such as Egypt and Indonesia to circumvent tariffs. Is this statement correct? Previously, an Egyptian steel producer was investigated for illegal Chinese subsidies. Do you think this statement is reasonable?

Zhang Ming: I just talked about two sets of figures, one is that China's steel exports to the EU have dropped significantly, and the other is that China's steel exports account for a very small proportion of its own steel production, and the total export volume of China's steel products is also very small. Regarding subsidies, frankly speaking, the Chinese government does not issue subsidies to encourage enterprises to increase steel production, but instead continues to introduce policies to reduce steel production. The story of the Chinese government subsidizing the steel industry is widely circulated in the media, and that is just a story.