China on Friday vowed to take countermeasures if World Trade Organization (WTO) members continue to classify Chinese imports through a protocol that it says gives trading partners an edge in dumping disputes and can result in high tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.
The Chinese government had expected its status as a WTO "surrogate member" - technically barring it from the "market economy" status enjoyed by many trading partners - to end December 11 on the 15th anniversary of China's accession to the global trade group.
But major WTO players, including the U.S., Japan and some EU countries - have frustrated these expectations, prompting the latest warning from Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang.
Beijing "is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes any intentions" by other WTO members to continue supporting China's surrogate status after the 15th anniversary, Shen said.
As a surrogate, China has had little control over how its exported goods are valued when dumping disputes arise. Trading partners that file WTO complaints against China can invoke Article 15 by valuing goods based on benchmark prices in select third-party countries such as Germany, Thailand and Malaysia, rather than according to Chinese prices, on grounds that China's industries are state-subsidized.
Shen said China wants WTO members to "live up to their commitment as early as possible to avoid affecting the normal development of bilateral trade relations."
When it joined the international trade body in 2001, China agreed to operate within the WTO system as a non-market economy for 15 years. China now wants to abandon that approach, arguing Article 15 gives trading partners unfair advantages.
To drive home the point, Chinese government officials in recent months lobbied trade partners directly as well as at WTO events in hopes of winning support for their bid to graduate from surrogate status.
At a July meeting in Geneva of the WTO's Council for Trade in Goods, China's representatives demanded all member countries fulfill their obligations under Article 15 by letting the surrogate limitations expire.
Australia and New Zealand have sided with China, but Europeans appear divided. Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland and Germany reportedly support market-economy status for China. But Italy, Spain and France have signalled opposition.
Legal experts agree China may or may not achieve market economy status even if WTO countries scuttle the use of Article 15 when dealing with Chinese imports. But they say abolishing the surrogate approach would level the playing field for China and its trading partners in the WTO framework.
Under the plan, prices in the countries that file dumping cases against Chinese imports would generally be used as reference points. But if "significant distortions" affect those prices, according to the proposal, international benchmark prices may be used.
The proposal has yet to receive approvals from each of the EU's member states and the European Parliament. It's unclear when these bodies may take action.
China is entitled to this right as a WTO member, and other member-nations must deliver on their promises, Shen said earlier in December, adding the EU's decision not to scrap the way it treats Chinese imports "disappointing."
China on Friday vowed to take countermeasures if World Trade Organization (WTO) members continue to classify Chinese imports through a protocol that it says gives trading partners an edge in dumping disputes and can result in high tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.
Australia and New Zealand have sided with China, but Europeans appear divided. Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland and Germany reportedly support market-economy status for China. But Italy, Spain and France have signalled opposition.
