China names US WTO as “destroyer”

China accused the United States on Wednesday, December 14, of using subsidies to bolster domestic sectors and refusing to adhere by World Trade Organization norms (WTO).

Li Chenggang, China’s Ambassador to the WTO, stated in a speech that he was dissatisfied with the United States’ trading record, stating that it did not live up to President Joe Biden’s inauguration commitment to lead “by the force of our example.”

“The United States puts ‘America First’ by prioritizing its domestic laws over international regulations and the laws of other nations, disregarding WTO rules and the concerns of other members,” he stated during a review of US trade policy conducted behind closed doors at the Geneva WTO.

“Clearly, the United States is a destroyer of the multilateral trading system,” he added, according to the English translation of his statement issued by the Chinese delegation to the WTO.

The US ambassador to the WTO, Maria Pagán, defended US policy by stating that the country has one of the most open, competitive, and tariff-free economies in the world. She stated, “For many decades, the United States has maintained the world’s most open economy.”

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The review of US trade policy occurs every few years and allows the 164-member group to provide comments on Washington’s performance.

China’s comments come days after it filed a WTO trade case against US export restrictions on semiconductors.

The United States has previously asserted that China’s industrial policies favor domestic goods and services. It has also demanded that the second largest economy in the world liberalize further and open its massive marketplaces.

Since December 2019, when Washington’s repeated obstruction of judge selections under former president Donald Trump crippled the WTO’s highest court, the WTO’s system for settling global trade disputes has only been partially functional. This implies that any member, including the United States, can and has appealed lower court decisions into legal limbo.

Ambassador Li referred to Washington as a “capricious rule-breaker” for its failure to implement decisions. The United States has regularly criticized the WTO dispute settlement system for its excesses and is currently conducting a consultation process with WTO members to determine how to reform it.