China to Take Next Step Based on Bilateral Consultation over Sino-US Steel Disputes

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 26, 2002

China to Take Next Step Based on Bilateral Consultation over Sino-US Steel Disputes

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China hoped that the USA would make a proper handling as to its Section 201 of the Trade Act, expressed Shi Guangsheng, minister of the MOFTEC here in Beijing. China has already had a bilateral consultation with the US side and would take next step based on the result of the talk.

According to the news from the MOFETEC, prior to this China has already made a proposal to the US side that it would like to join the understanding consultation for the solution of the disputes as conducted between the EU and the USA in the WTO.

The difficulties the US was confronted with were not incurred from the increased imports and it was a problem encountered in the readjustment of the steel industry, said Shi Guangsheng when he was attending the 2002 annual meeting of "China High-level Forum on Development". The imposition of an increased tariff on the steel imports would do no good to the readjustment of the steel industry in the USA. Moreover, it increased the cost of the imported steel and weakened the competitiveness of its steel products in the world market.

In this great tide of free trade as expected by all countries in the world, expressed Shi Guangsheng, what the US is doing has exerted a very bad influence on the world trade.

With regard to the checkup by the US Congress on China's execution of the World Trade Commitments, Shi Guangsheng pointed out "All countries in the world are of the opinion that the US practice of Section 201 of the Trade Act runs counter to the World Trade Agreements. Whether the US Congress has also to make an examination of itself?"

Shi Guangsheng also expressed that the Sino-American trade is a trade relation of mutual benefit. It's true that China has exported many products to the USA but most of them are the commodities that the US does not produce. They are commodities for daily use and of cheap price yet of better quality and so are good for American consumers. Whereas the products China imported from the US are what the US wanted to promote and export to the overseas markets.

China has got some favorable balance of trade, Shi said, but not to such a big extent as bandied about by the American newspapers. Let alone the difference in calculation, which is the major reason for the very big margin of trade surplus.

By People's Daily Online

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