China’s government hit out at EU steel anti-dumping penalties on Tuesday, saying it would defend Chinese business and denied it was exporting its own overcapacity problems as critics have suggested.
中国政府周二抨击了欧盟(EU)对中国钢铁的反倾销惩罚措施，表示将维护中方企业，并否认了批评者提出的中国对外输出产能过剩问题的说法。
Gao Hucheng, minister of commerce, told a press conference in Beijing that overcapacity in the metals industry was not just a Chinese problem. “Steel oversupply is a global problem and a global problem requires collaborative efforts by all countries,” he said.
商务部部长高虎城在北京的新闻发布会上表示，钢铁行业的产能过剩并不仅仅是中国的问题。“就钢铁来说，这是全球性的产能过剩。全球性问题必须大家一起坐下来解决，”他说。
“China safeguards the right to defend Chinese businesses in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organisation,” he added, in an apparent threat to impose tit-for-tat penalties.
“我们要按照世贸组织有关的贸易救济规则，维护中方企业的合法权益，”他补充道，此言显然是威胁中国可能实施针锋相对的惩罚措施。
“Consumers and some other businesses benefit from the lower prices, so let us make the point that this is purely market behaviour, not the behaviour of the Chinese government or the EU governments.”
“进口企业和消费者从中获利。这些钢材都是欧盟进口商或者消费者从中国按照合理的定价去购买的……企业提起申诉也是市场行为，不要把这点解读成政府或者欧委会的行为。”
Brussels has imposed tariffs on a type of steel from China to try to defend Europe’s manufacturers from a flood of cheap imports.
欧盟对从中国进口的一类钢铁产品开征关税，试图维护欧洲制造商不受廉价进口钢材洪流的影响。
The EU said last month it would slap provisional duties on “high-fatigue performance reinforcement bars”, known as rebar, used in the UK and Ireland to strengthen concrete.
欧盟上月表示将对俗称螺纹钢的“高抗疲劳性能混凝土钢筋”征收临时性关税，这类钢筋在英国和爱尔兰用于加强混凝土。
Steel producers worldwide accuse China of triggering a global collapse in prices by dumping its excess output — meaning selling below home market prices or the cost of production.
世界各地的钢铁生产商指责中国倾销过剩产出，即以低于国内市场价格或者生产成本的价格出售钢材，引发全球钢材价格大幅下滑。
However, Mr Gao rejected the charge China was to blame, saying the price falls have occurred in many commodity industries, not just steel.
然而，高虎城驳斥了钢铁价格下滑应归咎中国的说法，称许多大宗商品行业都出现了价格下滑，而不仅仅是钢铁行业。
“It boils down to changes in global supply and demand,” he said. “Overcapacity is a pronounced problem facing all countries... is still the problem of oversupply with steel and energy products and other commodities. ”
“不可回避，也必须正视的，就是供需关系问题，”他说，“产能过剩成为全球性问题……钢铁如此，能源如此，其它产品也是如此。”
China’s steel exports rose 20 per cent to hit a record 112.4m tonnes last year.
去年中国钢铁出口量提高20%，达到1.124亿吨的创纪录高点。
Job losses in European steel plants have put pressure on Brussels to halt the flow of cheap Chinese steel to Europe. Last month Tata Steel announced than 1,000 job cuts, adding to the thousands already lost over the year, along with several plant closures.
欧洲钢铁厂的裁员问题使欧盟蒙受压力，要求其遏止廉价中国钢材涌入欧洲。上月，塔塔钢铁(Tata Steel)宣布裁员逾1000人，而去年一年已经有数千个工作岗位流失，还有几家工厂关闭。
This week the EU Chamber of Commerce in Beijing said in a study of Chinese industries that overcapacity in China is a growing problem.
北京的中国欧盟商会本周表示，对中国几个行业的调查表明，中国的产能过剩问题日益严重。
Six out of eight industries studied by the chamber, ranging from glass to paper to steel, show signs that factories are operating at even lower rates than they were in 2009 in the immediate aftermath of the global financial crisis. In all of the industries studied, Chinese companies compete with large European businesses.
从玻璃业、纸业到钢铁业，该商会研究的8个行业中，6个行业有迹象显示，业内工厂的开工率比2009年全球金融危机过后更低。在这些被研究的产业，中国企业与欧洲大型企业展开竞争。