China plans to strengthen its efforts to reduce overcapacity and increase cooperation with other countries in building infrastructure, said Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, on Sunday. [Special Coverage]
"We will strengthen our efforts to reduce overcapacity," he said at a news conference on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions, the annual meetings of legislators and advisers.
Some local governments have made much headway in reducing overcapacity in such sectors as steel and coal, Xu said. "Hebei and Heilongjiang provinces, for example, have maintained social stability while pushing forward on corporate restructuring," he said.
The steel sector will reduce capacity by 100 to 150 million tons in five years. The coal sector will cut capacity by 500 million tons, with another 500 million tons to be restructured in three to five years, he said.
China's overcapacity reduction will benefit from its collaboration with countries involved in the country's Belt and Road Initiative, he said. Some are industrializing and urbanizing and they need to build infrastructure and upgrade industrial structures, he said.
Xu said China has signed agreements with more than 30 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Bilateral cooperation in building railways and nuclear facilities have fared well, leading to capacity transfers to those countries in sectors such as equipment, steel, nonferrous metal and building materials.
"More measures will be taken this year to push international capacity cooperation," he said.
