Massive job loss fears dismissed

China's top economic planner has dismissed fears that efforts to shed overcapacity will generate massive layoffs, and said parallels should not be drawn with the late 1990s when 21 million workers lost their jobs.

"The situation now is quite different from that in the late 1990s when loss-making State-owned enterprises underwent mergers and acquisitions," Xu Shaoshi, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a news conference on Wednesday. "Even in the iron and steel industry, private companies make up half of the sector."

Workers in the private sector could more easily move jobs, Xu said, responding to concerns that the events of 17 years ago could replay this year, a worry shared by local governments that have been asked to slash capacity.