中英共克時艱，合作應對鋼鐵業挑戰

On 11 April 2016, the Daily Telegraph and its website published a signed article by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming entitled “We Are Suffering, Too: Britain and China Must Join to Solve Steel Crisis” with a leading introduction. The full text is as follows:
2016年4月11日，英國主流大報《每日電訊報》紙質版和網絡版分別刊登駐英國大使劉曉明題爲《中英共克時艱，合作應對鋼鐵業挑戰》的署名文章，並同時發表了一篇導讀文章。全文如下：

We Are Suffering, Too: Britain and China Must Join to Solve Steel Crisis
中英共克時艱，合作應對鋼鐵業挑戰

Liu Xiaoming, Chinese Ambassador to the UK
中國駐英國大使 劉曉明

Recently, the UK’s steel industry has been dogged by news of closures or sell-offs, with thousands of jobs at risk. This is a sad story: the pioneer of the modern steel industry – once the world’s factory, churning out almost half of global steel production in the latter half of the 19th century – is shrinking and bogged down in difficulties.
近一個時期，英國鋼鐵行業不斷傳來不好消息，一些企業將停產或被出售，數千就業崗位面臨威脅。英國是現代鋼鐵工業發源地，19世紀後半葉鋼鐵產量幾乎佔全球一半，曾一度是世界鋼鐵中心。時至今日，英鋼鐵行業逐步萎縮，步履維艱，令人感到惋惜。

However, it is regrettable that some people in Britain blame China for what is happening in the British steel industry and accuse China of “dumping” steels in Britain and pricing local companies out of the steel ng China the “scapegoat” only misleads the public and contributes nothing to the solution of the problem.
但令我感到遺憾的是，英國一些人士將英國鋼鐵業不景氣的歸咎於中國，指責中國以不合理的低價向英國“傾銷”鋼材，擠壓了英國鋼鐵企業的生存空間。這種將中國作爲“替罪羊”的觀點不僅誤導公衆，也無益於問題的解決。

As Chinese Ambassador, I believe it is my duty to share with the British public what I see as the multiple reasons behind the sluggishness in Britain’s steel industry.
我感到，作爲中國大使，我有責任向英國公衆講清真相。英國鋼鐵業的不景氣是由於國際國內多重原因造成的。

First of all, the shrinking steel sector tallies with the general trend in advanced economies where traditional manufacturing has been replaced by a modern services and financial sector. Sheffield’s transformation from a steel-making city to a sport and education hub is a case in point.
從行業發展看，在發達國家鋼鐵業佔經濟比重日益減少是大趨勢，金融業和現代服務業已取代傳統制造業的地位。謝菲爾德從“鋼鐵之都”轉型爲“體育教育之城”就是最好的例證。

Second, in the post-financial crisis era, recovery stays weak and demand remains scarce in most of the economies. Steel overcapacity thus becomes an acute issue worldwide and steelmakers, wherever they are, face similar difficulties. The UK is not alone. Steel companies in Europe, China and beyond are all trapped in the same predicament.
從全球範圍看，後金融危機時期各國經濟復甦乏力，有效需求疲軟，全球鋼鐵產能過剩問題突出，鋼鐵企業處境艱難是普遍現象。不僅僅是英國，整個歐洲、中國乃至全球的鋼鐵產業都面臨困境。

Third, the price of steel production, including energy, labour and environmental costs, is rather high here in the UK. In face of fierce global competition, British companies in general are less competitive and less profitable in the field of ordinary and low-end steel production.
從英國自身看，鋼鐵業能源、環境、勞工等方面成本居高不下，在全球鋼鐵業激烈競爭的背景下，英國鋼鐵企業在普通或低端鋼材生產上總體缺乏競爭力，盈利空間狹小。
Steel imported from China, amounts of which are very limited, has little to do with the predicament of the UK’s steel industry. In both volume and value, steel from China makes up only a fraction of the UK’s total steel imports. In 2015, for example, of the UK’s 6.66m tons of imports, only 11pc, or 760,000 tons, were from China. If put in value, that was $457m, only 7.6pc of the $5.98bn total. Moreover, steel products from China are mostly low value-added, such as ordinary steel rods and plates, which Britain no longer makes and would have to import from other countries anyway. Therefore, imports from China have no impact upon the British steel market. On the contrary, by importing steels from China, the auto, machinery, construction and other British industries have effectively lowered their costs and increased their profit margin. And imports from China are not “dumping”, as some claim. The Chinese steel manufacturers have followed market rules strictly when exporting to Britain.
中國鋼鐵出口與英國鋼鐵業的困境沒有因果關係。中國向英國出口的鋼鐵十分有限。2015年，英國鋼鐵進口量666萬噸，進口總額59.8億美元。其中，自中國進口76萬噸，僅佔其鋼鐵進口量11%；自中國進口金額4.57億美元，僅佔鋼鐵進口總額的7.6%。中國向英國出口的鋼鐵，無論從數量還是金額上來看，都只佔英國鋼鐵進口的很小部分。況且中國向英國出口的主要是普通鋼鐵條杆和板材等低附加值產品，是對英國鋼鐵市場的有益補充。英國即使不從中國進口，也會從其他國家進口這類鋼材。因此，中國鋼鐵出口不構成對英國市場的衝擊。相反，英國從中國進口鋼材有效降低了英汽車、機械和建築等行業的生產成本，提高了相關行業的利潤空間。還需強調的是，中國沒有鼓勵鋼鐵產品“傾銷”，中國鋼鐵企業向英國出口鋼鐵產品完全遵循市場原則。

Like their British counterparts, steelmakers in China are also in difficulty. But unlike in Britain, the situation in China is even more serious and challenging. Over the past three years, China has reduced steel capacity by 90m tons. In 2015, for the first time in nearly 30 years, China’s crude steel production fell by 2.3pc year on year. In the coming five years, China is going to cut its crude steel capacity by 100m-150m tons. This new round of reductions will result in over one million lay-offs and relocations of steelworkers, far outnumbering those in the UK. So, both China and the UK have huge challenges on our way ahead – to reform and revitalise our respective steel sectors, and to provide help and support to those workers who might lose their jobs.
與英國的鋼鐵業一樣，中國鋼鐵業也面臨困境。不同的是，中國面臨的困難更大，挑戰更嚴峻。過去三年，中國已經壓縮了9000萬噸鋼鐵產能。2015年中國粗鋼產量同比下降2.3%，是近30年來的首次下降。今後5年中國還要壓減粗鋼產能1-1.5億噸。中國新一輪鋼鐵“去產能”將牽扯到上百萬人重新安置就業，其規模遠遠超過英國。因此，中英兩國都面臨改革和重振本國鋼鐵業，併爲可能失業的鋼鐵職工提供幫扶的艱鉅挑戰。

The Chinese and UK governments have maintained close contact on the steel issue. In late February, the China-UK Joint Economic and Trade Commission had a special discussion on this matter. Over the weekend, during Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond’s visit to China, the two governments had an in-depth exchange of views over the steel issue. Here in the UK, I have spoken on many occasions and shared China’s position with British people from different sectors of industry. I am pleased that China and the UK share the consensus that protectionism is not the solution, as it is retrogressive, goes against market rules and serves the long-term interest of neither side. Both sides believe that there should be closer dialogue and co-operation between our governments. Working with, rather than against, each other is the only way leading to a solution. Overcapacity in the steel industry is a global problem. It therefore calls for a global solution with stronger communication and co-operation among all steelmakers worldwide, who have the joint responsibility to uphold the order of steel trade and promote the sound development of the global steel industry.
中英兩國政府在鋼鐵問題上一直保持密切溝通。今年2月底中英經貿聯委會專門討論了這一問題。上週末（4月9日），哈蒙德外交大臣訪華，雙方就鋼鐵問題充分交換意見。我本人也在不同場合向英國各界多次闡述中方立場。值得欣慰的是，中英雙方都認爲保護主義不是解決問題的辦法，不符合社會進步和市場化原則，不符合任何一方的長遠利益。我們認爲，兩國政府和鋼鐵行業應加強對話合作，共同探討解決鋼鐵貿易問題。同時，解決鋼鐵產能過剩這一全球性問題，也需要全球鋼鐵業界加強溝通合作，共同維護鋼鐵貿易秩序，促進全球鋼鐵業良性發展。

For China and the UK, 2016 is the opening year of the “Golden Era”, in which dialogue, co-operation, mutual benefit and common development constitute the prevailing mainstream. In September, world leaders will gather in Hangzhou in China for the G20 Summit, which will focus on ways to withstand the global downward pressure, to find innovative growth models and to enhance international trade and investment. It is my hope and belief that China and the UK will work together to strengthen dialogue, break through the current difficulties and create a sustainable future for the steel industries of both countries.
2016年是中英關係“黃金時代”的開局之年，對話合作、互利共贏、共同發展應成爲“黃金時代”的主流。今年9月的G20杭州峯會將重點探討如何克服當前全球經濟下行壓力，創新增長方式，促進國際貿易和投資。我希望並相信中英雙方將攜手努力，加強溝通，共克時艱，同舟共濟，共創兩國鋼鐵業的可持續未來。