By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai Published: 1:06PM BST 24 Jun 2009
China has fought back after the United States and the European Union joined forces to complain about its unfair trade practices.
The US and the EU filed a joint complaint to the World Trade Organisation on Tuesday, accusing China of restricting exports of some raw materials in order to help Chinese manufacturers.
The Chinese Trade ministry quietly rebuffed the WTO complaint. "The main objective of China's relevant export policies is to protect the environment and natural resources. China believes the policies in question are in keeping with WTO rules," said the ministry of Commerce. "Following the WTO procedures for dispute resolution, China will appropriately handle the request for consultations."
The tone of the response was relatively mild compared with some of the vehement reactions China has had to previous complaints. Beijing also retaliated with its own request for the WTO to investigate US restrictions on the import of Chinese poultry products.
The US and China banned imports of each other’s poultry in 2004 after outbreaks of bird flu but China lifted its ban in September last year and the US has not reciprocated.
The complaint is the latest in a series of trade spats between China and the West, with both sides trying to protect their domestic manufacturers. The US has introduced "Buy American" legislation and China has also reminded companies and government offices to "Buy Chinese".
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发表于 2009-6-25 16:41
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