The United States recently said that China’s trade restrictions and “interventionist policies” in various markets have created problems for American businesses in dealing with Asia.
According to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, “numerous sectors” of the Chinese economy discriminate against foreign business. The institute’s annual report, which discussed Chinese compliance with World Trade Organization rules, called the government’s continuous intervention a “troubling trend.”
“China seems to be embracing state capitalism more strongly, rather than continuing to move toward the economic reform goals that originally drove its pursuit of WTO membership,” the report stated.
The USTR report was directed at Congress one day after China’s 10th anniversary of joining the WTO. Since then, China has become the largest exporter and the second-largest importer in the world. In 2001, trade in goods like appliances, toys, tools and clothing was around $510 billion, while today’s market has reached nearly $3 trillion.