China responds to accusation it skipped WTO process to retaliate against U.S.

(Photo/CGTN)

Following is a response by the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Canada to a recent Globe and Mail article accusing China of retaliating against the United States by skipping the WTO's dispute-resolution process:

On April 5, the Globe and Mail published an article titled "WTO rules are the first casualty in the China-U.S. shoving match," which commented on the China-U.S. trade dispute. Instead of criticizing the U.S. for provoking the dispute in the first place, the article accused the way China chose to defend its own rights and interests, saying "by skipping the World Trade Organization's dispute-resolution process entirely," "the world's biggest exporter effectively ignored a crucial pillar on which the entire system of global rules-based trade stands."

In fact, it is the U.S. that has flagrantly violated the WTO rules.

The U.S. launched the Section 301 investigation against China based on its domestic laws, and announced levying extra tariffs on Chinese products and restricting Chinese investments. Actually these acts taken by the U.S. are not within the framework of the WTO.

The U.S. side, by doing this, also violated the "Statement of Administrative Action" submitted by the U.S. president to the U.S. Congress when it ratified the WTO agreement in 1994. In this statement, the U.S. promised not to unilaterally determine whether practices of other countries violate the WTO rules through the Section 301 investigation.

In stark contrast to the U.S., China strictly abides by the WTO rules, and refers the U.S. to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism in the first time when it takes countermeasures against the U.S.. The article did not criticize the offender who violates the rules, but blamed the victim who complies with the rules. This reversal of right and wrong is unfair and unsavory.