China refutes US charges of “breaches of WTO rules”

BEIJING, April 25 . China on Wednesday refuted U.S. charges of “breaches of WTO rules” saying such judgements should be made within the WTO framework rather than be decided by any single country.

The U.S. consul general of Hong Kong Kurt Tong said Tuesday that China’s breaches of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules are detrimental to the United States.

Tong said China’s size and international economic success had fostered the idea that it was acceptable for the country to ignore global trading rules.

The U.S. side has to provide evidence when it charges China on violations of WTO rules, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a regular press briefing.

“It’s good that the U.S. side is willing to talk about WTO rules,” Lu said, adding that recent discussions within the organization in Geneva clearly indicated that many WTO members strongly expected the United States to abide by WTO rules.

“Since joining the WTO, China has been fulfilling the obligations as a member state and abiding by WTO rules,” Lu said, adding that China had always been an active participant, firm supporter and key contributor to the multilateral trade system.

“As a matter of fact, China’s development results are achieved by following international rules and by the hard work of Chinese people,” Lu said.

“Trade conflicts between China and the United States can be resolved through bilateral talks, or be managed under multilateral frameworks, but should not be handled unilaterally,” he said. Enditem