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The Ministry of Commerce Photo: VCG

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday issued a scathing report on the WTO compliance of the US, criticizing Washington as a destroyer of the multilateral trading system, a practitioner of unilateralism and bullying, a manipulator of double standards on industrial policies, and a disrupter of global industrial and supply chains.

By objectively documenting a long list of US actions that violate WTO rules and undermine multilateral trade, the report aims to call on Washington to correct its wrong practices, fulfill its commitments and promote cooperation to safeguard multilateralism, Chinese trade experts said.

This is the second time that the MOFCOM has issued a report on WTO compliance by the US, with the first being released in August 2023. The new report issued on Thursday included an overall assessment of US compliance with its WTO obligations, specific concerns over US policies and measures, and efforts of China and other WTO members to address Washington's non-compliance with WTO rules and its destruction of multilateralism.

"Due to its relentless unilateralist and protectionist practices arising from its domestic political considerations and short-term interests, the US has been deviating from the core values and basic principles of the WTO, as well as the general expectation of other WTO members," the report said.

The report also pointed out that Washington's practices have undermined the authority and efficacy of the WTO, disrupted the normal order of world trade and the economy, and harmed the common interests of the vast majority of WTO members.

"The MOFCOM report offered a very accurate picture of US practices that are in violation of WTO rules. It is based on the facts and is objective," Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday, while also noting that the report contained detailed accounts of various US actions that violate WTO rules. 

Notably, the report went to great lengths to elaborate on numerous specific US actions of serious concern, including tariff and non-tariff trade barriers such as the so-called Section 301 investigations and tariffs. In addition, it listed protectionist US industrial policies in a wide range of areas, including electric vehicles (EVs), semiconductors and photovoltaic systems. 

"There is indeed a consensus among many WTO members that the US has repeatedly violated WTO rules and become increasingly protectionist. However, in many cases, China has been the main target," Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday, adding that it is crucial to document all the wrong practices of the US for the broader international community to see.

Under various guises including an overstretched concept of national security, the US has imposed restrictions on Chinese products and businesses. In one of the latest examples, the US has announced additional tariffs of 100 percent on Chinese EVs, despite widespread criticism and opposition from its domestic industries.

The MOFCOM report not only aims to highlight US violations of its WTO commitment, but more importantly to call on Washington to correct its mistakes and promote cooperation to safeguard the multilateral trading system, according to Gao. "That is the most fundamental purpose," he said.

"China will continue to closely monitor the US fulfillment of its obligations under the WTO. Meanwhile, China will, as always, work closely with all WTO members, firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, fully and deeply participate in WTO reform, and collectively advance the multilateral trading system to play a greater role in global economic governance," said the report, which also elaborated on the joint efforts of China and other members to address US actions and propositions that have violated WTO rules and undermined multilateralism.