China to defend rights on surrogate country approach

China will "firmly defend its lawful rights and reserve the right of further actions" as some WTO members refuse to abandon the surrogate country approach, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said in an article published Monday.

Under the surrogate country approach, WTO members use costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products from countries on its "non-market economy" list, which includes China. The practice allows countries to easily levy high tariffs in trade disputes.

In accordance with Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the WTO in 2001, the surrogate country approach expires on December 11, 2016.

The United States and the European Union retain the surrogate country approach, although most WTO members have dropped it.

Gao said all WTO members should fulfil the obligation enshrined in the accession protocol, which is clear and unquestionable.

"China's lawful rights must be protected," he said.

China firmly opposes the distortion of WTO rules and the dismemberment of a multilateral trade mechanism, the minister said. Endi