China has made little progress in lowering trade barriers and implementing proposed reforms promised when it joined the WTO two years ago, the US said on Thursday.
In a 70-page annual report to the US Congress, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said Beijing's "uneven and incomplete WTO compliance record can no longer be attributed to start-up problems.
"As this years report reveals, while the US-China economic and trade relationship is growing rapidly, there are a number of systemic concerns that remain, making further improvements in that relationship problematic," Zoellick wrote.
He said Washington would prefer to resolve its concerns through talks with China, but "if bilateral efforts are not successful ... the administration is fully prepared to enforce US rights through other means, including dispute resolution at the WTO."
China has become the third-largest US trading partner since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
But even though US exports to the world's largest country by population have grown by 66 percent over the past three years, the US trade deficit ballooned to a record US$13.57 billion in October.
Zoellick's report said US officials in the Bush administration still remain concerned at China's lack of progress in removing agricultural trade barriers, protecting intellectual property rights and transparency in government.
Beijing has also in the past year begun to use tax policies to favor domestic production and increased its use of industrial policies to aid domestic producers at the expense of importers and foreign businesses operating in China.
"This latter phenomenon is particularly apparent in the automotive sector, where a proposed industrial policy threatens to undercut many US industry gains in China's market," the report said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from