A photo taken shows an article, written by Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming, published on Britain's Daily Telegraph. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian]

China should not be made the “scapegoat” of the current steel crisis in the UK, says Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese Ambassador to the UK in an article published on the Daily Telegraph on Monday.

The Chinese Ambassador stressed in the article that China is not to blame for what is happening in the British steel industry and the accusation that China is “dumping” steels in Britain is ill-founded.

His comments come after a number of British politicians, including opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, accuse China of “dumping” steels into British markets.

Liu Xiaoming noted that there are multiple reasons behind the sluggishness in the development of Britain’s steel industry, with the first being the general trend in advanced economies, which has prompted the transformation from traditional manufacturing into a modern services and financial sector. Second, in the post-financial crisis era, economic recovery stays weak and demands remain scarce in most economies. Last but not least, the cost of steel production, including energy, labour and environmental costs, is rather high in the UK.

Liu went on to explain that in both volume and value, steel from China makes up only a fraction of the UK’s total steel imports and the Chinese steel manufacturers have followed market rules strictly when exporting steel to Britain.

In addition, Liu Xiaoming pointed out that China itself is facing an even more serious and challenging situation in its steel industry. The country has reduced steel capacity by 90m tons over the past three years and is planning to cut its crude steel capacity by 100m-150m tons in the coming five years. He called on Britain to join China to find a solution to the overcapacity in their steel industries. The two governments should engage in closer dialogue and co-operation, “working with, rather than against each other” to uphold the order of the global steel trade, the Chinese Ambassador wrote.