Merkel reacts after missing a question from a reporter during a joint news conference with Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. WU ZHIYI / CHINA DAILY

China's iron and steel industry is on a pace with the European producers' output in the 1970s, he said. European countries began to subsidize iron and steel companies 40 years ago, but the industry has waned in accordance with market demand, Chen added.

He said Germany should exert its influence on the EU to loosen or cancel trade limits on Chinese iron and steel exports.

The German steel maker ThyssenKrupp said at the meeting that the global overcapacity of iron and steel cannot be resolved without China's participation and that it will take time to solve the problem.