The EU said yesterday that it has asked to participate in WTO talks over the Chinese copyright and trademark policy initiated last month by the administration of US President George W. Bush.
Mexico also is requesting to join the dispute as a so-called "third party," the WTO said.
The procedural step, which already had been taken by Japan and Canada, demonstrates the growing international pressure Beijing faces to crack down on piracy.
"This is a case of great importance," said Peter Power, spokesman for EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. "We have asked to be third parties. We are very interested in this case. We will watch developments in these consultations with great interest."
The EU is China's largest trading partner.
The US filed two new cases against China at the WTO on April 10, challenging Beijing's rules for copyright and trademark protection and its alleged failure to remove import restrictions on copyrighted US goods including newspapers, magazines and video games.
Power said that it was still too early to speculate on whether the 27-nation bloc would start its own complaint over China's rules for intellectual property rights if the consultations failed.
The EU and Mexico filed their requests to join the talks at the WTO last week, trade officials said.
Mexico said it had a "substantial interest in this dispute" because of its growing trade with China.
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