A surge in US investment in China since it joined the WTO masks what US automakers, telecommunications providers and farmers say are new barriers to the nation's domestic market.
Since China joined the WTO in December, thousands of foreign-made automobiles have been piling up at Chinese ports, stalled because of a new law aimed at cracking down on fraudulent import licenses. Imports of gene-altered soybeans and corn were also temporarily halted after China adopted new certification rules.
In the meantime, China's domestic auto sales grew by 51 percent in June. Domestic soybean output for this year will reach a record high and corn output will rise by 10 percent, according to government estimates.
The new regulations underscore concerns among US automakers and agriculture producers that China, home to 1.3 billion consumers, is shielding domestic interests and failing to live up to WTO rules.
"There is a certain unwillingness to take bold risks even in the name of WTO compliance," said Robert Kapp, president of the US-China Business Council, which represents companies such as AT&T Corp and Ford Motor Co.
China's quest to join the Geneva-based WTO took 15 years, while it negotiated dozens of trade agreements with WTO members and changed its legal and regulatory systems to recognize individual property rights, foreign ownership and other trade-related activities.
Chen Rongkai, a spokesman for China's trade ministry in Beijing, said the government is in compliance with WTO rules.
"China will adhere to its promises," Chen said.
China, the world's second-biggest corn grower after the US, has also continued subsidies on cotton and corn exports that undercut the US market share in Asia and has shown reluctance to opening its communications market, US agriculture industry officials said.
Representatives from AT&T, Motorola Inc and Cisco Systems Inc traveled to China in late May to make clear that the breakup of the nation's telecommunications monopoly didn't fulfill all of the steps to ensure promised competition.
Still, US foreign direct investment in China is about 17.6 percent higher during the first six months of the year, compared with a year earlier, according to Chinese government data. Most of that boost has been from companies that already had a presence in the country.
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