China slams US ‘arrogance’ on WTO status
China Monday said the US threat to pull recognition of China’s “developing nation” status at the World Trade Organisation showed its “arrogance and selfishness”, ahead of crucial trade talks this week.
The reaction followed a memo issued on Friday by President Donald Trump to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, stressing that some countries were enjoying lenient treatment by “improperly” identifying themselves as developing economies.
The memo is widely seen as a swipe at China. The Trump administration’s demand “further exposed its wayward arrogance and selfishness”, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing Monday.
One or a few countries “should not have the final say” on which nations should be categorised as developing countries, Hua said.
She insisted that China needs to maintain its status as a developing economy to “achieve real trade fairness”.
Trump’s memo said the WTO, which operates a global system of trade rules and settles disputes, uses “an outdated dichotomy between developed and developing countries that has allowed some WTO members to gain unfair advantages”.
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