Beijing Passes On Intervening Over Iron Ore
BEIJING -- China's top economic planner said the government won't intervene in continuing negotiations between Chinese steelmakers and foreign mining companies that supply the iron ore they need, despite earlier warnings by Chinese officials that the country couldn't tolerate higher prices.
"The government will not interfere," Ma Kai, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a group of U.S. newspaper editors Friday. "This price will be decided on the basis of market and enterprise negotiations."
China is increasingly concerned about prices of key commodities needed to feed its surging economy, such as oil, copper and steel. Prices for China's iron-ore imports surged 71.5% last year from 2004. The sharp jump has hurt Chinese steelmakers, which have banded together in the current negotiations with global iron-ore suppliers.
Earlier last week, China's Ministry of Commerce issued a statement warning that China can't tolerate higher iron-ore prices. The ministry warned it may take unspecified measures if prices are deemed too high.
Speaking to a visiting delegation from the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Mr. Ma reiterated China's broader development goals approved earlier last week by China's National People's Congress, or legislature. The goals include balancing economic growth with measures to protect China's environment. Surging pollution levels in China's air and water have become an issue of national and international concern.
"We are aware that we cannot develop our economy at the expense of tomorrow," Mr. Ma said. He said local officials will be judged not only by how much their regional economies grow, but also by their success at protecting the environment.
He said China's leaders are committed to reducing a widening income disparity that is making some Chinese very rich while the country's annual per capita income averages slightly more than $1,700. "All we can say is that they are growing pains ... it is a historic and long-term process."
Mr. Ma, who has headed the NDRC since 2003, is among the country's most influential economic policy makers. Indeed, the commission, which was built on the foundation of the former State Planning Commission and a number of industrial ministries, is so powerful that it is sometimes called the "Little State Council." Besides setting macroeconomic policies, the NDRC continues to oversee a number of industrial sectors and is involved in such key issues as energy.
Mr. Ma said he isn't overly worried about inflation. If prices rise, he said, the government "has enough economic instruments to control it."
中国政府在铁矿石价格问题上转变姿态
中国最高经济规划官员表示，政府不会介入中国钢铁企业与外国铁矿石供应商之间的谈判，尽管此前中国官员曾声明中国无法承受价格再次上涨。
国家发展和改革委员会(National Development and Reform Commission)主任马凯周五对美国报业编辑访华团表示，中国政府不会介入，价格应当由市场和企业谈判决定。
中国越来越关注石油、铜和钢铁等主要商品的价格，以满足经济高速发展的需要。中国去年的铁矿石进口价格比2004年上涨了71.5%。价格飙升损害了中国钢铁企业的利益，他们因此在本次与全球铁矿石供应商的谈判中团结起来、一致对外。
中国商务部(Ministry of Commerce)在上周早些时候发表声明说，中国无法承受铁矿石价格再次上涨，并警告说，如果认定价格过高，可能将采取必要措施。
马凯在对美国报业编辑协会(American Society of Newspaper Editors)访华团发表讲话时，再次重申了中国全面的发展目标，该目标在上周早些时候获得了中国立法机构全国人民代表大会(National People's Congress)的通过。目标包括立足环境保护推动经济增长。中国日益严重的空气和水污染问题已经成为中国和世界关注的焦点。
马凯说，我们清楚地认识到不能牺牲未来换取经济增长。他表示，今后地方官员的评判标准不仅仅取决于当地的经济增长，还要看他们在保护环境方面作出的成绩。
他说，中国领导人致力于缩小日益扩大的收入差距──这导致了一部分人非常富有，而中国人均年收入仅略高于1,700美元。他表示，这些都是发展时期的困难……这是个长期的历史过程。
马凯自2003年起一直担任发改委主任，他是中国最具影响力的经济决策者之一。发改委是在国家计划委员会(State Planning Commission)的基础上建立的，还并入了其他部委的职能，因此权力很大，有时甚至被称做“小国务院”。 发改委除了制定宏观经济政策以外，还制定工业行业规划，并参与能源等重要领域的工作。
马凯表示，他对通货膨胀并不是非常担心。他说，如果物价上涨，政府有足够的经济手段来控制它。
