Against the backdrop of an open letter written by EUROFER and other European steel bodies to the leaders of the G7 countries urging them to block cheap steel imports from
China, Hua Chunying, spokesperson at
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), has stated that only 7.6 percent of
China's steel exports go to Europe and 14 percent of EU's steel imports come from
China and so it is groundless to attribute the woes of the steel industry in Europe to
China. She said that overcapacity in the steel industry was due to the sluggish global economy and weak demand, which was to be fundamentally solved by achieving steady and sustained global economic growth, while she added that trade protectionism would do little to solve the issue.
Ms. Hua pointed that, according to the article 15 of the protocol
China signed when joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), WTO members should terminate the "surrogate country" system in antidumping investigations against
China by December 11, 2016, adding that the EU as an important member of the WTO should adhere closely to WTO rules and desist from trade protectionism.