"China's government and Chinese companies should learn to apply the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism in a rational and practical manner to protect the interests of companies and to deal with complaints," China's counselor to the WTO Lu Xiankun declared on Sunday, July 5.
According to the website of China's Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Lu said at a conference in Shangai that protectionism and trade friction was on the rise globally due to the economic slowdown. Much of it was targeted at China and this would adversely affect Chinese exporters, he added.
Mr. Lu also commented that the world trade environment was proving tougher for Chinese exporters, presenting more possibilities for China to file suits. He went on to say that China could be expected to face more complaints as some of its stimulus measures could cause disputes with foreign governments or industries.
"As of the end of May, China had filed four dispute settlement cases to the WTO and had been the target of 14 cases since its entry to the WTO in 2001," Mr. Lu said.
"Cases involving China concerned subsidies, export limits, market access, safeguard measures, antidumping and countervailing measures, intellectual property and services," Mr. Lu stated.