Industry associations in the U.S. and EU should not "use the excuse" of trade in steel to block China's market economy status, read a statement posted on the website of the Mission of the People's Republic of China to the EU on Monday.
Nine steel associations from the U.S. and Europe released a joint statement in November claiming that the global steel industry is experiencing a crisis of overcapacity to which the Chinese steel sector is the main contributor, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said in November.
They opposed any move by the EU to classify China as a market economy, a status that is to be automatically accorded by the WTO in December 2016, the CISA said.
It's inappropriate to use the excuse of steel trade friction to deny China's market economy status, and it's also unfair to claim China's growing steel exports are disrupting the global market, an official directly involved in China's steel industry told the Global Times on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
The global steel industry is facing overcapacity, and that includes the EU and U.S., the official said.
Slow world economic growth and declining demand have been the main factors weighing on steel prices, leading to overcapacity, according to the official.
She said that China has taken effective measures to address excess capacity in the sector.
"In the next two years, the growth of steel exports from China will gradually slow," the official noted.
China became a member of the WTO in December 2001. Based on its agreement with the WTO, China will be automatically awarded market economy status in December 2016, Wang Guoqing, a senior researcher at Beijing-based Lange Steel Information Research Center, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Once China is given market economy status, domestic steel companies will be treated equally with their international competitors, Wang said.
