China pledges to cut steel glut as talks end

Associated Press

BEIJING

China promised to rein in production of steel that is flooding global markets and work with Washington to enforce North Korea nuclear sanctions, as high-level talks between the superpowers ended Tuesday with no announcements of progress on simmering disputes in the South China Sea.

Envoys from the two sides also didn’t agree on what to do about China’s aluminum producers, among the bloated industries Washington and other trading partners complain are dumping exports too cheaply, hurting foreign competitors and threatening jobs.

The two-day annual Strategic & Economic Dialogue concluded with both sides acknowledging disagreements on significant issues including human rights. But the world’s biggest economic powers repeatedly stressed their desire for friendly, productive relations.

“While efforts over the past several days cannot resolve our concerns, they do represent real progress,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said.

For its part, Washington vowed to boost its savings rate and investment, especially in infrastructure. The American side said it would pursue “fiscal sustainability,” a reference to narrowing its yawning budget deficits.

China’s commitment to persist with reforms to make its economy more balanced included shrinking its vast steel industry and opening its financial sector wider to U.S. companies, Lew told reporters.

Commercial tensions are growing. The U.S. and other countries feel Beijing has responded to a glut of unneeded supply by encouraging low-priced exports.

China’s government announced plans this year to shrink state-owned steel and coal producers at a cost of millions of jobs. But that will take time, and the flood of low-cost steel has prompted protests by European steelworkers and was cited by Tata in its decision to sell money-losing British operations that employ 20,000 people.

Washington has imposed anti-dumping tariffs and is investigating if Chinese mills are using stolen U.S. technology. The European Union has launched its own probe into possible dumping.