US poses greater threat to global trade: official

The US, not China, is posing a threat to the global trade system, China’s foreign ministry said on Monday, after US President Donald Trump’s administration called US support for China joining the WTO in 2001 a mistake.

WTO rules have proved ineffective in making China embrace a market-oriented trade regime, and the US “erred” in backing China’s entry to the trade body on such terms, the office of the US Trade Representative said last week.

Its report came as Trump weighs a series of trade actions against China, and a decision in the Section 301 investigation launched last year into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property is expected in the next few weeks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that since China joined the WTO, it had strictly followed the body’s rules, carried out its obligations and contributed to the development of the multilateral system.

Other countries have benefited from trade with China, which has stuck by the route of reform and opening-up and has supported an open global economy, she noted.

“I think everyone has seen that it’s precisely the US’ unilateralist methods, and the sounds it has made on unilateralism, that are an unprecedented challenge to the multilateral trade system,” Hua said.

“Many WTO members have already expressed concerns about this,” she said.

“So we hope the US can view China correctly and at the same time take their own steps to protect the multilateral trading system.”