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US’ idea of evicting China from WTO ‘absurd’ : FM

2018/11/23 11:46:45   source:Xinhua

China has been fulfilling its commitments to the WTO and contributing significantly to global trade, so the suggestion by a top US economic adviser that China could be evicted from the trade body is clearly nonsense, officials and experts said on Thursday.

There were sharp exchanges between China and the US at a WTO meeting on Wednesday, with the US accusing China of using the WTO to pursue non-market policies and a Chinese official saying Washington was itself flouting the rulebook, according to Reuters.

Most controversially, Kevin Hassett, one of US President Donald Trump's top economic advisers, hinted at evicting China from the WTO because it had been "misbehaving," when he was interviewed by the BBC.

This suggestion reflects the US' hegemonic mentality, Geng Shuang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a press briefing on Thursday.

A while ago, the US threatened to withdraw from the WTO, and now it talks about expelling China from it, which is surely absurd, Geng noted. "Members could have negotiations to tackle divergences, but it's very dangerous to talk about 'throwing people out,'" he said.

As a member of the WTO, China has effectively fulfilled its corresponding obligations and responsibilities, said Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Business at the University of International Business and Economics.

China has made a contribution to the development of the WTO and has actively adapted to WTO rules, as well as accelerating its own reforms, Sang told the Global Times on Thursday.

From 2001 to 2017, China's average growth in cargo imports was 13.5 percent, 6.9 percentage points higher than the average global level, a white paper released by the State Council showed.

Also, China lowered cargo tariffs from 15.3 percent to 9.8 percent before 2010, and the average tariffs for agricultural products have been reduced from 23.2 percent to 15.2 percent. These levels are much lower than in developed countries, the paper showed.

"Some members threaten to quit the WTO when their own demands are not met, and even say the WTO is out of date. It's a really irresponsible attitude," Sang said.

Safeguard multilateralism

WTO members have expressed appreciation for China's active role in driving global trade and the fact that it is one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investment, according to a trade policy review published by the WTO in July.

China's contribution to ongoing discussions on recent initiatives in areas such as e-commerce, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as investment facilitation for development have also been applauded, the review noted.

The future of global trade mainly depends on the multilateral trade regime, said Lin Guijun, vice president of the University of International Business and Economics. That trade regime is currently dominated by China, the US and the EU, which together account for more than 50 percent of global trade volume.

"Without China, global trade growth cannot be so fast," said Lin.

China's tariff reduction for US goods has been much more significant than the US' tariff reduction for goods from China, Lin noted, adding that China has also made considerable concessions in agriculture and services, as well as opening for investment.

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