Mr. Lew also said Beijing promised to work to wind down “zombie companies”-those businesses that are unprofitable but kept afloat and whose production adds to the glut of industrial goods on global markets”.
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China is producing so much steel – and selling it so cheaply – that other countries are getting pretty upset, claiming China is flooding the market. Washington has imposed anti-dumping tariffs on steel, and European officials say they have launched a trade investigation.
Lew’s Chinese counterpart, Lou Jiwei, said China already cut 100 million tons of iron and steel production past year and that it has pledged to do more.
The two-day Strategic and Economic Dialogue – a high-level meeting between the United States and China covering a range of regional and economic issues – saw China making key promises like giving the USA a 250 billion yuan ($38 billion or 33 billion euros) investment quota to allow the world’s number one economy a stronger foothold in the Asian giant’s domestic markets.
He suggested that both countries make the most of cooperation potential in the areas of trade and investment, clean energy, and environmental protection, adding that they should strengthen communication and coordination on major global and regional issues.
Secretary of State John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart laid out diverging positions regarding the South China Sea yesterday, indicating that annual talks between the United States and China had done little to bridge the differences over what has become one of the most volatile issues in their relationship.
China and the U.S. have held 24 rounds of talk on the treaty since 2008. He said Chinese officials also agreed to cooperate with Washington in a possible global steel forum to discuss industry issues.
“China is no longer a centrally planed economy”. “With the central government’s efforts to further adjust the economic structure, leaning toward technological innovation, the progress in reducing excessive capacity will certainly continue”.
China’s steel industry is huge, with national production growing sevenfold from 2000 to 2014 on the back of massive infrastructure investment in cities and as the government ploughed billions of dollars into heavy industry to counter the impact of the 2008 financial crisis. Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim territory within the South China Sea.
This year’s meeting of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue is the last for the Obama administration, with the USA presidential election approaching.
The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration is expected to make a decision by the end of this month on a case the Philippines has brought over Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Manila calls a violation of worldwide laws. China’s military is building outposts on man-made islands to bolster its claims. “Both sides should put themselves in each others’ shoes and manage them in a pragmatic and constructive way”.
A court in The Hague is expected to deliver its decision in the case soon, but Beijing has said it will not accept the result.
On North Korea, Kerry said USA and Chinese experts would study how to enforce United Nations anti-nuclear sanctions approved in response to North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missile technology.
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State Councilor Yang Jiechi said Beijing wants to solve disagreements through negotiation.
