The United States has acknowledged China's achievements in implementing its
commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to the latest report
published by the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
"China has taken important steps in implementing the numerous commitments
that it undertook upon its WTO accession on December 11, 2001," the report said.
The report is the fourth annual one that the USTR has published to report to
US Congress on China's practices to meet its commitments to the WTO.
It covers nine broad categories of WTO commitments undertaken by China.
It said China has eliminated some trade barriers and has started to even out
unequal treatment. Additionally, it has further opened the service market and
strengthened the liberalization of bilateral and multilateral trade since it
entered the WTO.
With regard to the IPR (intellectual property right) issue, which remains the
top concern of the US Government, the report said that China has made
significant efforts to implement its commitments to establish a legal framework
to ensure the protection of IPR in accordance with the WTO's Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
"China has done a relatively good job of overhauling the legal regime," the
report commented.
However, the USTR stressed that China should further strengthen the
enforcement of its laws and regulations.
The report added that the Sino-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade
meeting held in July this year achieved some progress on a range of
trade-related issues.