China’s commerce ministry said earlier in the month that the European Union’s new trade rules against imports from China showed a lack of awareness of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. He urged the EU to abide by those WTO requirements.
Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng made the remarks at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
The European Union agreed to new rules in early October to guard against lower-priced imports from China, ending 18 months of argument over trade ties with Beijing.
When he was asked about the USA deferring a decision on anti-dumping tariffs on imports of Chinese aluminum foil and China’s non-market economy status, Gao said the phrase non-market economy showed “Cold War” thinking.
The concept of non-market economy countries does not exist in the WTO rules and is only being used by some of the WTO’s individual members, Gao said.