China urges U.S. to fulfill its obligations under multilateral trading system

China is willing to work with all members, including the U.S., to push for necessary reforms of the World Trade Organization (WTO) through consultations on equal grounds, said Zhang Xiangchen, China's ambassador to the WTO, on Monday.

Zhang said the U.S. contributed a lot to the establishment of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and WTO rules, but the country failed to fully fulfill its obligations.

"I remember one of the colleagues of United States Trade Representative (USTR) told me proudly that the GATT and WTO rules are in our blood," he said.

Zhang Xiangchen, China's ambassador to the WTO, attends a meeting. /MOFCOM Photo

"Since the last trade policy review, especially last year, we see a different America with mismatched power and responsibility," said Zhang, adding that "The country imposed 'section 232' measures on steel and aluminum product, applied 'section 301' measures to increase tariffs and blocked the selection of Appellate Body members."

Zhang also said it's hard to accept the excuse that tariff increase on steel and aluminum products are based on dubious national security concerns.

"We do not believe that the U.S. is not aware that its unilateral 'section 301' measures are inconsistent with its WTO commitments. And we cannot side with the statement that putting the Appellate Body in a paralysis will make it more effective," said Zhang.

China along with the EU and a number of members has submitted a joint proposal for the reform of the WTO Appellate Body. China has proposed three principles and five suggestions in this regard. Zhang said that China hopes that the U.S. will engage in the discussion constructively

(CGTN)