欧美可能加大对中国钢材抵制

Beijing is bracing for a US and European backlash against Chinese steel, as the rise of Donald Trump threatens to escalate overseas opposition to a domestic industry that accounts for half the world’s output.

中国正准备迎接欧美对中国钢铁的反弹，唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)当选美国总统可能加剧海外对中国钢铁行业的抵制。中国占全球钢铁产出的一半。

China’s domestic steel consumption fell last year but exports have so far soaked up excess production, helping mills defy Beijing’s efforts to rein in surplus capacity. That export crutch could weaken as attitudes harden in other big steel-producing regions.

去年，中国钢铁消费下滑，但出口迄今消化了过剩产量，帮助钢厂顶住中国政府遏制过剩产能的努力。随着其他钢铁生产大国的态度变得强硬起来，这种出口支撑可能会减弱。

In the US, President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of limiting Chinese imports, while the European steel industry has lobbied hard against granting China market economy status by December as stipulated in the terms of its 2001 entry to the World Trade Organization.

在美国，当选总统特朗普的竞选平台就是限制中国进口，而欧洲钢铁行业一直大力游说，反对在12月根据中国2001年加入世贸组织(WTO)的条款赋予中国市场经济地位。

Over the weekend, China’s ministry of commerce protested after the EU closed in on a deal to impose punitive anti-dumping tariffs. “China has expressed great concerns and worries about the EU’s trade protectionist tendency over steel," the ministry said on Saturday, in a statement on its website.

周末，随着欧盟(EU)接近达成对中国征收惩罚性反倾销关税的协议，中国商务部发出抗议。商务部上周六在其网站上的一份声明中称：“中方对欧盟近期在钢铁领域表现出的贸易保护主义倾向表示高度关注和担忧。”

“The European steel industry’s problems are due to weak economic growth, not because of competition with Chinese steel products,” it said, while calling for better communication and exchanges “to properly solve problems that the steel industry is facing”.

商务部称：“欧洲钢铁困境的根源在于经济增长乏力，而非中国产品冲击，”同时呼吁“加强与欧方的交流和沟通，妥善解决当前钢铁产业面临的问题”。

Chinese steel exports for the first 10 months of the year rose about 1 per cent to 93m tonnes, and are likely this year to come close to last year’s record 112m tonnes. Asian countries account for well over half its exports.

今年头10个月，中国钢铁出口增长约1%，至9300万吨，今年可能会逼近去年1.12亿吨的创纪录水平。中国钢铁出口的一半以上流向亚洲国家。

This year China and the EU agreed on a bilateral ‘platform’ to track Chinese steel shipments, a model that some have indicated the US and China could also adopt. But big international steel producers also face a second, harder-to-fight threat from China’s overcapacity — Chinese shipments to developing regions including Africa and the Middle East erode those regions’ purchases from developed countries.

今年，中国和欧盟就追踪中国钢铁出货量的一个双边“平台”达成一致，一些人指出，美国和中国可能也会采取这种模式。但大型国际钢铁制造商还面临着中国产能过剩带来的第二种更难应付的威胁，中国对非洲和中东等发展中地区的钢铁出货量将侵蚀这些地区从发达国家的购买量。

As for the US, Chinese editorials have warned Mr Trump against a trade war, although many officials believe he will prove a pragmatist once in office.

至于美国，中国媒体的社论一直警告特朗普不要发动贸易战，不过很多官员认为，特朗普入主白宫后将变得务实。

“I don’t think he will launch a trade war. He’ll take into account all the interests, including the national interest,” said Li Xinchuang, head of the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute. “The American steel industry is already very weak and lagging behind. There’s no point in protectionism because the US steel industry already doesn’t meet its own needs.”

“我认为他不会发动贸易战。他会考虑各方利益，包括国家利益，”中国冶金工业规划研究院(China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute)院长李新创表示，“美国钢铁业已非常疲弱，而且落后。保护主义没有任何意义，因为美国钢铁行业已无法满足本国的需求。”