Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    World
    Home / World / Americas

    China: US holding WTO process hostage

    By Chen Weihua in Washington | China Daily USA | Updated: 2018-05-09 11:12
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    China on Tuesday accused the United States of abusing its decision-making powers at the World Trade Organization by holding hostage the selection process of new members to its dispute settlement court, known as the Appellate Body.

    Zhang Xiangchen, China's ambassador to the WTO, told a General Council meeting on Tuesday that "if the selection process is not launched, the functioning of the Appellate Body will be paralyzed, which will put the entire dispute settlement system in crisis".

    The US has refused to start the process to fill the vacancies in the Appellate Body unless it undergoes changes demanded by the US.

    The body is composed of seven members but only four are now in office since one has resigned and two others' terms have expired. Three judges are required to hear each appeal.

    Zhang described the WTO dispute settlement system as facing its most difficult time since its creation, saying that "without such a system, the WTO's trade rules will no longer be effectively enforced, and the trust and credibility of the multilateral trading system will be deeply undermined," according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

    "Ultimately, we will not be able to effectively restrain unilateralism and protectionism," Zhang said.

    He said China cannot agree with the US linking its concerns to the selection process.

    "The member-driven mechanism does not mean that it is driven by only one single member," he said, adding that such concerns should be addressed through discussion under the WTO framework and China is willing to engage in such discussion.

    WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo on Monday called on members to boost their engagement towards tackling a number of systemic challenges, including the blockage of nominations to the Appellate Body.

    He said it was of "utmost importance" that members work to resolve the impasse regarding nominations. "If we do not find a solution here - whatever shape that solution may take - we could severely compromise the whole multilateral trading system," Azevedo said.

    China has filed cases against the US regarding its Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs and its proposed tariffs under the Section 301 of US Trade Act of 1974.

    Zhang said the US veto and its tariffs have systematically challenged the WTO's fundamental principles. "Any one of these, if left untreated, will fatally undermine the functioning of the WTO," he said.

    Scott Lincicome, an adjunct scholar at the Washington-based Cato Institute and an international trade attorney, said it is "really a shame" that the Trump administration hasn't shown a significant regard for the multilateral system.

    He described the WTO dispute settlement system as the "crown jewel" of international law. "Now when you have a big player that stops valuing the system, that's where problems can emerge," he said in a podcast last Friday.

    Lincicome said recent US tariff measures and other unilateral actions "fly in the face of WTO rules".

    "These types of things really strain the system, they strain the credibility of the system," he said, referring to the US invocation of national security with the steel and aluminum tariffs and a number of protectionist trade measures.

    Xinhua contributed to this story.

    chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

     

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    韩国中文字幕毛片| 久久人妻少妇嫩草AV无码蜜桃| 精品国产a∨无码一区二区三区 | 日本中文字幕一区二区有码在线| 无套中出丰满人妻无码| 亚洲国产综合精品中文第一区| 国产亚洲人成无码网在线观看| 国产aⅴ激情无码久久| 亚洲欧美中文日韩在线v日本| 无码囯产精品一区二区免费| 亚洲AV无码无限在线观看不卡 | 天堂а在线中文在线新版| 久久久久亚洲av无码专区导航| 69堂人成无码免费视频果冻传媒 | 中文在线√天堂| 中文字幕无码第1页| 乱人伦人妻中文字幕无码| 国产成人无码一区二区三区| 无码一区二区三区免费| 精品久久亚洲中文无码| 最好看的电影2019中文字幕 | 国产av无码专区亚洲av果冻传媒| 暖暖免费日本在线中文| 亚洲国产精彩中文乱码AV| 无码AV一区二区三区无码| 国产AV无码专区亚洲AV男同| 日韩精品人妻系列无码专区| 无码av高潮喷水无码专区线| 午夜无码中文字幕在线播放| 欧美亚洲精品中文字幕乱码免费高清 | 国产精品无码无片在线观看| 亚洲av无码专区在线播放| 国产亚洲精品无码专区| 精品亚洲成A人无码成A在线观看| 最好看的中文字幕最经典的中文字幕视频 | 亚洲国产av无码精品| 免费无码中文字幕A级毛片| 中文人妻无码一区二区三区| 成人无码区免费A片视频WWW| 蜜桃无码一区二区三区| 亚洲国产精品成人精品无码区在线|