China should not assume responsibilities outside its commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinese officials and WTO experts said, noting that China acknowledges concerns raised by some of its trading partners and will further open up its economy to the world. China will take seriously questions, complaints, and even criticism raised by other WTO members, but will not accept criticism based on expectations or requirements beyond the WTO provisions, as such criticism is unreasonable and unfair, China's Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said at a press conference. China has already fulfilled its obligations under the WTO, and has also delivered its commitments, which has been broadly affirmed and recognized by several WTO Directors General and most WTO members, Wang said. The press conference was held to address media concerns on the latest WTO policy review of China's membership in late October. A number of WTO members, including the U.S., the EU, Australia, Japan and India, confronted China with issues of what they consider as “unfair” trade practices by China, market access and distortion.
“Some WTO members raised concerns or expectations in some areas, which may have exceeded WTO regulations. It is inappropriate for them to say that China has not fulfilled WTO obligations based on their expectations beyond WTO,” said Wang. For example, in terms of intellectual property protection, there is a big difference between the provisions of the WTO's IP agreement and the provisions of some free trade agreements. It would be inappropriate if the WTO requires China to implement IP protection provisions of some high-standard free trade agreements, Wang noted. Some WTO members also expressed their hope that China would further widen its market access, which is understandable, but Wang said that “it is unreasonable, unfair and unacceptable to accuse China of not having fulfilled WTO rules.” “It is another case of trade being politicized, and it shows that some trade experts are hijacked by the stance of their respective governments," Huo Jianguo, former President of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told the Global Times.
China became a member of WTO on December 11, 2001, and it is now the world's largest trading country and a major trading partner of over 120 economies. A total of 65 representatives made comments and asked a record of 2,562 questions to China on video, which was 16% more than those for the seventh review three years ago, Wang said. “China has strictly implemented the rulings on specific cases made by the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism even if such rulings are detrimental to China. As long as it is a WTO ruling, we will recognize and enforce it,” Vice Minister Wang said. He noted that there was so far no case in which the accusing party applied for retaliatory measures because China did not accept a WTO ruling, the Global Times reports.
