China yesterday appealed at the last minute against a WTO ruling upholding parts of a US complaint about Chinese restrictions on imports of films, books and other audio-visual material.
The move showed that China was continuing to pursue litigation against the US on a range of trade issues as relations sour over President Barack Obama’s imposition on Sept. 11 of tariffs on imports of cheap Chinese tires.
But it also showed that China was keen to play within the rules of the international trading system rather than pursuing a damaging trade war.
“China is appealing the panel ruling,” an official at China’s WTO mission said.
A WTO dispute panel found on Aug. 12 that China’s regime for importing and distributing audio-visual material broke international trade rules.
Beijing made clear from the start that it was considering challenging the finding, and yesterday’s move also demonstrated its interest in building up experience in using international trade law to defend its interests.
Washington had argued that China’s controls on cultural products robbed US publishers, Hollywood and entertainment multinationals of the opportunity to make substantial sales, leaving the way open for local pirates to sell counterfeit copies.
The WTO’s ruling did not challenge China’s right to censor material that the authorities find objectionable, but said the government could not use censorship to justify illegal trade barriers.
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