China eyes WTO panel to settle disputes: MOC

BEIJING - China hopes the World Trade Organization's panel will lead to the proper settlement of its trade disputes with the United States about the latter's countervailing probes into China's exports, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Tuesday.

The panel was appointed on Monday by the WTO, after the United States failed to resolve China's concerns in a consultation held between the two countries on Nov 5, said Shen Danyang, a spokesman for the MOC.

On Sept 17, China filed a complaint to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on the United States' amendment to the Tariff Act of 1930, or the GPX bill, that passed earlier in the year.

The bill allows for a retroactive application period that goes back to 2006, when the United States started to launch more than 30 countervailing probes against China without legal support, the MOC said.

The practices have landed Chinese enterprises in an uncertain legal environment and violate WTO rules, Shen said.