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The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Photo: VCG

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Tuesday strongly rejected the US' National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, which listed China as the country of "primary concern." The ministry urged the US to fully comply with WTO rules instead of making false accusations against other countries.

MOFCOM pointed out that whether countries' trade policies constitute barriers should be judged by whether they violate WTO rules, adding that the US report didn't present any evidence showing that China has violated the rules. The report arbitrarily accuses China of having so-called "non-market policies and practices" and barriers related to agricultural products and data policies. China strongly opposes this.

Since its accession to the WTO, China, as the world's largest developing country, has always firmly supported the multilateral trading system, while also expanding its high-quality opening-up, continuously improving its socialist market economy system and legal system, and insisting on giving full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, which has been widely recognized and appreciated by the international community, said MOFCOM.

The US side, however, adheres to an "America first" strategy. It disregards multilateral trade rules, arbitrarily imposes unilateral tariffs on other countries, formulates discriminatory industrial policies, abuses measures such as export controls and investment restrictions on the grounds of "national security," restricts the participation of foreign-backed enterprises in the US in government procurement, and sets a large number of trade barriers on purpose that impede fair competition, MOFCOM stressed. This has caused concern among WTO members including China, the ministry noted.

China urges the US to halt its groundless criticism of other countries, fully comply with WTO rules, and protect a just and fair international trade order, said MOFCOM.

The office of the US Trade Representative released the annual report on Monday, which alleged that China has created "trade barriers" related to food safety requirements, industrial policies for advanced manufacturing, and data regulations.

Global Times