China's Political Season: CPPCC advisor argues for cutting excess capacity in steel industry

World
Europe

The issue of overcapacity in the steel industry is one that's of keen interest to Sun Zhaohui. Sun is a political advisor in the CPPCC who presented a proposal at a panel discussion during the Two Sessions. Unlike others who came with a complete draft, he waited till the last minute before submitting his proposal. Wu Guoxiu tells us why.

Each member of this panel had 8 minutes to talk. Sun Zhaohui wanted to make the most of his chance. Unlike other members, he didn't finish his proposal before coming to Beijing. He wanted to hear more advice before submitting it. At the panel discussion, he spoke while discussing the government work report.

SUN ZHAOHUI CPPCC MEMBER "There are always concerns when cutting overcapacity. Panzhihua, the steel city, had 100 percent good air quality days last year, but its GDP still grew. The idea has to be changed. Protecting the environment doesn't go against GDP growth."

Sun is in his second term as member of China's political advisory body. It's his sixth year in the meeting. This year, more than half of his team are new faces. To give new members enough time to speak, the panel allowed members to present but not to discuss each other's proposals.

SUN ZHAOHUI CPPCC MEMBER "Only those from the companies have strong feelings about supply-side reform. I talked to some of them informally."

All CPPCC members were asked to submit their proposals within a week of the session's opening. The proposals will be handed over to the concerned government departments, who have to give written responses to each one of them.

WU GUOXIU BEIJING "In the government work report, Premier Li pledged that China will continue to cut overcapacity in steel and coal. Political adviser Sun Zhaohui says he will follow up on his proposal closely, and keep tabs on the country's supply-side reform, where he has seen positive achievements. WU GUOXIU CGTN BEIJING."