The data comes as major steel producing countries failed to agree measures to tackle an industry crisis, with differing views over the causes of overcapacity.
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A spokeswoman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills said: “There is a global issue with China dumping steel and the whole goal of this meeting is excess capacity”.
They also agreed that their governments should not provide subsidies or other support that sustain loss-making steel plants or encourage additional capacity.
To switch from an investment-led model to one that relies on domestic consumption, services, and innovation, China is slashing industrial overcapacity, mainly in the coal and steel sectors, the document said.
But China is the world’s top steel producer, and critics say its capacity far exceeds its needs. Their expertise was called on in a session aimed at “Drawing on the experiences that economies have had in restructuring their steel industries in the past … and how these lessons could be applied to develop effective strategies for addressing the current crisis in the steel industry”.
“China does not subsidise its steel export industry”.
Excessive steel production in China is strangling the global market but the country has expressed reluctance to temper its output at a meeting in Belgium between over 30 OECD countries.
“In the future, China will promote the use of steel structures in buildings and greatly increase the proportion of steel structures when rebuilding shanty areas and dilapidated houses and implementing anti-seismic housing projects”, he said.
The US in March slapped tarrifs of almost 300 percent on so-called cold rolled steel, used to make auto parts, but the European Union settled on a more cautious 20 percent for the same product.
The case is the latest move by the USA aluminum industry to try and get authorities to investigate the impact of rising imports, particularly from China.
Yet he added that Chinese output had already declined in recent years, and a further 100-150 million tonnes would be shaved off steel production over the next five years.
The Chinese government has taken the most concrete measures and is paying enormous price to cut overcapacity, said Mr Zhang.
Indian giant Tata Steel put its loss-making British operation up for sale last month leaving thousands of jobs at risk, in the latest example of the crisis hitting the steel industry.
The Chinese government revealed on Saturday its general plans to steel and coal workers who recently lost their jobs, saying assistance includes early retirement, career counseling, and help in starting up a business. Last week, more than 40,000 German steel workers took to the streets to protest against dumping from China.
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Meanwhile, China’s official state news agency Xinhua said blaming China for global problems in the steel industry was “a lame and lazy excuse for protectionism”.
