But Signals Desire Not to Further Strain U.S. Ties
China on Wednesday accused the United States of violating the principles of fair trade, a day after the Bush administration imposed emergency quotas on textile imports from the world's most populous country to stem a surge in shipments.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce expressed China's "strong opposition" to the Bush administration's action, asserting that it violates "World Trade Organization principles of free trade, transparency and nondiscrimination," according to a dispatch carried by the official Xinhua News Agency. "China reserves the right to lodge lawsuits to safeguard the interests of Chinese industries."
China's response constituted the latest flare in a widening trade dispute with the United States. Yet the fact that the message was delivered by a ministry spokesman rather than a more prominent official and that it lacked a clear promise of retaliatory action or a formal appeal to the WTO appeared to signal China's intent to avoid inflaming tensions further before Premier Wen Jiabao visits Washington later this month.
Officials here have also been preoccupied with attempts to persuade the Bush administration to press Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, to cool his recent rhetoric toward pursuing the island's formal independence, adding to their reluctance to ratchet up conflict with the United States. Although Taiwan has been self-ruled for more than a half-century, Beijing claims it as a Chinese province and has threatened to retake the island by force should the government assert its independence.
Still, China also responded to the textile quotas by scrapping a mission that had been scheduled to visit the United States for 10 days to purchase U.S. soybeans and other agricultural goods, wire services reported.
The Bush administration asserted that the quotas on imports of Chinese knit fabric, dressing gowns, robes and bras are legitimate under the WTO agreement when levied in response to a demonstrable surge in imports of goods that cause harm to a particular industry. The quotas affect 5 percent of China's overall textile exports to the United States.
Beijing has recently opted to use its increased purchasing power as a tool to soothe U.S. displeasure over the country's widening trade deficit with China, which is expected to balloon to as much as $130 billion by the end of the year.
China announced plans last week to buy more than 30 jets from Boeing Co., as well as U.S.-made automobiles and engines for a domestic airplane-manufacturing project -- for a total of about $6 billion in deals. Bush administration and Chinese trade officials have emphasized that such purchases are aimed at narrowing the surplus with the United States and managing the sensitivity of trade as a political issue.
As China's exports have surged, it has found itself cast as the prime villain in American narrative recriminations over the loss of factory jobs in the U.S. heartland.
Many economists note that the industries hurting the most -- makers of textiles, toys and furniture -- would be struggling against exports from other developing countries such as Mexico and the Philippines regardless of China's impact. China has argued that it is being made a scapegoat for fundamental weakness in U.S. manufacturing, noting that its trade is roughly in balance with the world as a whole. China has been sucking in vast quantities of raw materials -- mostly from Asia -- to fuel its development.
Still, the issue seems likely to intensify as the U.S. presidential election approaches. Many Democratic candidates have in recent months demanded action against China to limit its exports to the United States.
China on Wednesday accused the United States of violating the principles of fair trade, a day after the Bush administration imposed emergency quotas on textile imports from the world's most populous country to stem a surge in shipments.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce expressed China's "strong opposition" to the Bush administration's action, asserting that it violates "World Trade Organization principles of free trade, transparency and nondiscrimination," according to a dispatch carried by the official Xinhua News Agency. "China reserves the right to lodge lawsuits to safeguard the interests of Chinese industries."
China's response constituted the latest flare in a widening trade dispute with the United States. Yet the fact that the message was delivered by a ministry spokesman rather than a more prominent official and that it lacked a clear promise of retaliatory action or a formal appeal to the WTO appeared to signal China's intent to avoid inflaming tensions further before Premier Wen Jiabao visits Washington later this month.
Officials here have also been preoccupied with attempts to persuade the Bush administration to press Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, to cool his recent rhetoric toward pursuing the island's formal independence, adding to their reluctance to ratchet up conflict with the United States. Although Taiwan has been self-ruled for more than a half-century, Beijing claims it as a Chinese province and has threatened to retake the island by force should the government assert its independence.
Still, China also responded to the textile quotas by scrapping a mission that had been scheduled to visit the United States for 10 days to purchase U.S. soybeans and other agricultural goods, wire services reported.
The Bush administration asserted that the quotas on imports of Chinese knit fabric, dressing gowns, robes and bras are legitimate under the WTO agreement when levied in response to a demonstrable surge in imports of goods that cause harm to a particular industry. The quotas affect 5 percent of China's overall textile exports to the United States.
Beijing has recently opted to use its increased purchasing power as a tool to soothe U.S. displeasure over the country's widening trade deficit with China, which is expected to balloon to as much as $130 billion by the end of the year.
China announced plans last week to buy more than 30 jets from Boeing Co., as well as U.S.-made automobiles and engines for a domestic airplane-manufacturing project -- for a total of about $6 billion in deals. Bush administration and Chinese trade officials have emphasized that such purchases are aimed at narrowing the surplus with the United States and managing the sensitivity of trade as a political issue.
As China's exports have surged, it has found itself cast as the prime villain in American narrative recriminations over the loss of factory jobs in the U.S. heartland.
Many economists note that the industries hurting the most -- makers of textiles, toys and furniture -- would be struggling against exports from other developing countries such as Mexico and the Philippines regardless of China's impact. China has argued that it is being made a scapegoat for fundamental weakness in U.S. manufacturing, noting that its trade is roughly in balance with the world as a whole. China has been sucking in vast quantities of raw materials -- mostly from Asia -- to fuel its development.
Still, the issue seems likely to intensify as the U.S. presidential election approaches. Many Democratic candidates have in recent months demanded action against China to limit its exports to the United States.
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