Voices from the two sessions

It's better to use our finances to support employees' lives than to use the money to carry on supporting companies that make huge losses. When employees who lose their jobs because of overcapacity reduction are able to lead stable lives, thanks to governmental financial help, they will be able to get new jobs after training. According to Beijing's plan, the central government will spend 100 billion yuan on redistributing employees within the companies that are scheduled to cut capacity. The money can be used for relocation and professional training.

Li Yining, senior economist and a member of the CPPCC National Committee

China's current overcapacity problems in the steel and coal sectors are not temporary. There is an ongoing surplus. We talked about production overcapacity 10 years ago, but steel and coal output carried on growing to meet increased demand. However, in the past two years, steel output reduced by 2.3 percent while steel consumption fell by 5 percent, which shows that the problem is structural, not cyclical. Industry insiders and the public are very concerned about zombie companies. We need clear parameters to define which companies those are.

Li Yizhong, former head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and a member of the CPPCC National Committee

Banks and companies need to cooperate during this capacity reduction process. Financial institutions should provide monetary support for leading companies in the industries, so they can acquire those that need to cut capacity and slash debts.

Mei Xingbao, former chairman of China Orient Asset Management Corp and a member of the CPPCC National Committee

Jilin has been shutting down small-scale coal mines. The province has cut the annual production of coal from 50 million metric tons to 25 million tons in the past two years. We will continue to reduce the overall capacity and end up producing 10 million tons. Meanwhile, Jilin will develop clean energy, including solar, wind and hydropower, in a bid to improve the province's energy structure.

Bayin Chaolu, Party chief of Jilin province and a deputy to the National People's Congress