The
Ministry of
Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) said Wednesday
that more needs to be done to protect domestic industries as China
has increasingly become a target of anti-dumping measures since
entering the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"Learning to protect ourselves in the global trade community is of
pivotal importance for us to sustain our economic development,"
said Ma Xiuhong, vice-minister at MOFTEC.
"As a newcomer to the world trade club, we should work actively to
learn to take advantage of relerant WTO rules," she said.
The vice-minister made the remark Wednesday at a nationwide working
conference on Fair Trade for Imports and Exports, running June 5-7,
the first of its kind after China gained WTO membership.
With the reduction of tariffs as required by the WTO, non-tariff
measures are the most commonly adopted weapon nowadays when the
idealist notion of globalization, of which free trade is the core,
is challenged by worldwide economic stagnation.
Many measures against Chinese products were taken in the name of
''protecting the environment and consumers' rights" or "violations
of intellectual property rights."
Figures from MOFTEC show that by the end of April this year, a
total of 494 anti-dumping and safeguard-measures cases had been
launched against China by 32 countries and regions involving more
than US$15 billion worth of Chinese exports.
In
the past four months, a rising number of trade disputes have been
filed against Chinese enterprises and their products. A total of 58
anti-dumping and safeguard-measure-related cases were initiated
against China, up 25 percent from the previous year.
Some experts said to a certain extent the relatively low price of
Chinese products and the rapid rise in China's exports have
triggered such a large number of anti-dumping actions.
"We should get prepared to defend our industries as quickly as we
can," the vice-minister said.
According to Ma, though the Chinese Government has already taken
many measures to counter international trade protectionism,
''that's far from enough." She added that the government is now
speeding up the enactment of laws and regulations on fair trade for
imports and exports.
"And we will enhance the transparency of the government operation
as well as enhance our communication and co-operation with
industrial organizations and enterprises," she said.
Since China's entry into the WTO last December, an increasing
number of Chinese enterprises have learned to protect themselves in
compliance with the WTO rules.
However, the vice-minister pointed out that Chinese enterprises
should take further efforts to better defend their interests
against overseas protective measures.
In
addition, domestic enterprises should learn more about
international practices and strengthen their self-discipline to
enhance their competitive edge, Ma said.
Figures show that by the end of May this year, the country had
initiated 19 anti-dumping investigations, most of which involve
chemical products.
(China
Daily June 6, 2002)