China's commerce ministry slams US report as 'consistent bullying'

BEIJING - China firmly opposes the 2022 Report to Congress on China's WTO Compliance released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative as it fully exposes the unilateral thinking and consistent bullying of the US side, an official from the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

The US side has ignored China's great achievements in fulfilling its WTO commitments, distorted its progress in developing the market economy, and denied its important contributions to the multilateral trading system and global economic development, the official said.

The official noted that the US has judged other WTO members with its own "market economy" criteria, which lacks legal and factual basis.

As the largest developing country in the WTO, China has always upheld the multilateral trading system and fully delivered its accession commitments to the WTO over more than two decades, the official said.

China has been widely recognized by WTO members for its continual expansion of its high-level institutional opening-up, and for the active help it has given other developing member countries, especially the most underdeveloped, to integrate into the multilateral trading system, the official said.

In recent years, the US has engaged in unilateral trade bullying, manipulated the double standards of industrial policies and disrupted global industrial and supply chains -- actions which have severely undermined the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system, the official said.

The WTO Dispute Settlement Body has ruled that the US measures violated WTO rules. However, the United States refused to implement the ruling and "paralyzed" the WTO appeals body, which weakened the core values and basic principles of the multilateral trading system, the official said, adding that China is deeply disappointed.

China calls on the US to correct its wrongdoings in a timely manner, abide by the WTO rules and its own commitments, and play its role in safeguarding the authority, integrity and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system, the official said.