Major countries launch probes in complicated climate: MOFCOM

China is facing challenges in the complicated foreign trade climate, including more than 100 trade remedy probes in the first 11 months, and the country is committed to complying with WTO rules and hopes to resolve disputes through talks, a senior Chinese trade official said Thursday.

Since the beginning of this year, China has faced severe trade friction. A total of 28 countries and regions launched 101 trade remedy probes into Chinese goods in the first 11 months – 57 anti-dumping investigations, 29 countervailing duty investigations and 15 cases involving trade safeguard measures, Gao Feng, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told a press conference on Thursday.

The industries investigated include steel, building materials and chemicals, Gao said, noting the US, India, Canada and Australia were the major countries that resorted to such measures against China-made products in these sectors. The total value of the cases was about $32.4 billion.

Compared with the same period last year, the number of probes and their value rose 38 percent and 108 percent, respectively, according to the MOFCOM.

Gao said that in a bid to maintain the stability and fair competition of the trade order, trade remedy measures should be adopted in a strict and reasonable way, and they should be consistent with WTO rules. China will also firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of domestic industries in accordance with the provisions of Chinese laws under the framework of WTO rules, according to Gao. “Meanwhile, we hope to strengthen communication and coordination with other WTO members to promote industrial cooperation and properly resolve conflicts and differences through dialogue and consultation to jointly safeguard the global free trade order and the multilateral trading system,” Gao said.