Trade remedy measures only last resort: Commerce Minister

Trade remedy measures should only come as a last resort after the failure of dialogues in resolving disputes, said Chinese commerce minister Gao Hucheng Saturday.

Gao made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of China's legislative sessions, when asked about China's attitudes towrads increasing trade frictions as the world's leading trader for goods.

In recent two years, trade and investment protectionism is on the rise and China should be prepared, said Gao.

China's stance has been consistent, sad Gao, putting on top of the agenda consultations and dialogues between governments and industries.

Gao referred to trade remedy measures repeatedly taken by the U.S. against Chinese solar batteries, and high tarrifs slapped on them.

"However, the U.S. also exports large numbers of polysillicons to China," said Gao, who believes a similar successful story between China and the EU is worth remembering.

From 2013 to 2014, China and the EU successfully resolved their differences that involved 20 billion U.S. dollars worth of solar products, said Gao. "One of the main reasons was that many upstream products for China came from EU."

WTO has given its members the right to use trade remedy measures, and the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO also provides a platform, said Gao. "We think economies should exercise caution in using relevant measures." Endi