Beijing rejects US claims of WTO rule breaches
Print Edition
CHINA yesterday rejected American charges of “breaches of WTO rules,” saying such judgments should be made within the World Trade Organization framework rather than being decided by any single country.
Kurt Tong, the United States consul general of Hong Kong said on Tuesday that China’s breaches of WTO rules are detrimental to the US.
Tong said China’s size and international economic success had fostered the idea that it was acceptable for the country to ignore global trading rules.
The US side has to provide evidence when it charges China on violations of WTO rules, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a press briefing.
“It’s good that the US side is willing to talk about WTO rules,” Lu said, adding that recent discussions within the organization in Geneva clearly indicated that many WTO members expected the US itself to abide by WTO rules.
“Since joining the WTO, China has been fulfilling the obligations as a member state and abiding by WTO rules,” Lu said, adding that China had always been an active participant, firm supporter and key contributor to the multilateral trade system.
“As a matter of fact, China’s development results are achieved by following international rules and by the hard work of Chinese people,” Lu said.
“Trade conflicts between China and the United States can be resolved through bilateral talks, or be managed under multilateral frameworks, but should not be handled unilaterally.”
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said in Washington that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will travel to China in a few days for trade talks.
Trump made the announcement at a press conference with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House.
Chinese officials “came here, as you know, last week. And we’re having very substantive discussions on trade,” Trump said, referring to bilateral discussions of trade at meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which concluded in Washington last week.
During the spring meetings, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, and other financial leaders around the world called on the US and China to resolve trade tensions through dialogues and rules-based multilateral institutions.
“I believe the trade will work out ... hopefully it’ll be good for everybody concerned,” Trump said.
His remarks came after Mnuchin said on Saturday that he was considering a trip to Beijing to discuss trade issues with his Chinese counterparts.
“China has received the information about the US side hoping to come to Beijing for consultations on economic and trade issues and we welcome it,” Lu said.
“I want to stress that China-US economic ties are mutually beneficial in nature.”
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