China upholds part of WTO ruling on US poultry dispute

BEIJING - China on Thursday welcomed part of a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on a dispute over China's anti-dumping and countervailing duty measures on chicken products from the United States.

In a statement on its website, the Ministry of Commerce said the WTO panel report rejected some of the U.S. side's arguments and supported some of the Chinese side's arguments, and the ministry welcomes the ruling.

The Chinese side reserves opinions on the ruling over the information disclosure of basic facts and urged the WTO panel to clarify the problems in future cases, the statement said.

The WTO panel report, which was circulated on August 2 and adopted by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on September 25, supports China's arguments regarding determination of domestic industry and trade level differences.

China imposed anti-dumping duties on chicken products imported from the Unites States in September 2010, claiming that the chicken products were subsidized in the Unites States and then unloaded onto the Chinese market at a price less than fair value.

Disputes over broiler chickens -- chickens that reach slaughter weight by about 13 weeks of age -- have been a major source of contention in the often tense relations between the world's two largest economies.

Washington requested consultation with Beijing immediately after China imposed duties and then appealed to the WTO in September 2011.