Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei has stated at the eighth session of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Beijing that, given the long-standing overcapacity problem which has been evident since the financial crisis in 2008, China will continue to eliminate excess and outdated capacity in the steel industry. However, he added that China cannot impose any hard quotas on steel production capacities given that 52 percent of Chinese steel producers are in the private sector.
Mr. Lou also stated that China will implement fiscal policies to help workers laid off due to the elimination of excess steel production capacities. In particular, funds of up to RMB 100 billion ($15.24 billion) will be provided to resettle workers laid off in Chinese industry due to elimination of excess capacities, the minister said.