Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 909 Sun. December 17, 2006  
   
Business


WTO Commitments
China regrets US assessment


China's commerce ministry on Friday expressed regret over the United States' harsh assessment of its compliance with its WTO promises, saying the criticisms were not objective.

The US Trade Representative's office highlighted in an annual report Monday numerous complaints, including "rampant" piracy of US goods and threatened to sue China at the World Trade Organization if bilateral talks fail.

It also said China's record in implementing WTO commitments is "decidedly mixed".

China's Ministry of Commerce hit back at the US government report in a statement on its website Friday.

"China has noticed that the United States (has) many criticisms over China's implementation of WTO agreements in the fields of intellectual property rights, industrial policies and the services trade," it said.

"China believes that many of the US criticisms were not objective, complete or in line with the facts."

"China expresses regret over this and urge(s) the United States to handle bilateral trade relations with an objective and pragmatic attitude," the statement said.

But the statement also said it appreciated Washington's affirmation of its efforts in meeting its WTO promises and said the two countries should solve their trade disputes through dialogue.

The ministry issued the statement shortly after the close of the high-level two-day Sino-US strategic economic talks in Beijing.

The trade representative's report is mandated by Congress and is Washington's fullest annual examination of how China is faring on market-opening commitments.