China expresses 'grave concerns' about new US memorandum

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday expressed "grave concerns" about a memorandum signed by US President Donald Trump to direct US trade representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer to examine China's intellectual property practices.

The USTR will determine "whether to investigate any of China's laws, policies, practices, or actions" that "may be harming American intellectual property rights, innovation or technology development" under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, according to the memorandum released Monday (local time) by the White House.

"We will engage in a thorough investigation and, if needed, take action to preserve the future of US industry," Lighthizer said on the same day.

Section 301, once heavily used in the 1980s and early 1990s, allows the US president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions against foreign countries. But the United States has rarely used the trade tool since the WTO came into being.

As the United States has promised to use Section 301 in compliance with WTO rules, "the US side should keep its promise and not become a destroyer of multilateral rules," the MOC said in a statement, citing an unidentified spokesperson.

Since the historic meeting between the presidents of both countries in April, the two sides set up four high-level dialogue platforms, including the China-US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue, and launched a 100-day cooperation plan and charted the course of economic cooperation in a year's time, the statement said.

"The United States should treasure the current sound Sino-US economic and trade ties and cooperation momentum. Any US trade protectionism move will surely damage bilateral ties and the interests of companies from both countries," it added.

"We hope that the USTR will respect facts and act with prudence," the ministry said.

If the US side fails to respect basic facts and multilateral trade rules, and takes measures that harm bilateral economic and trade relations, "China will definitely not sit by, but take all appropriate measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," it said.

In past few years, China has taken active measures in opening up and improving the business environment for foreign investment.

China has always attached great importance to intellectual property rights protection by improving legislation and enhancing administrative and judicial protection, and the progress and effects have been widely acknowledged, the MOC said.