Put US tariff beast back in the cage: China to WTO

Washington: China on Monday called on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to unite to prevent the United States from "wrecking" the organisation and urged its members to oppose US tariffs targeting China's alleged theft of intellectual property.

Zhang Xiangchen, China's Deputy International Trade Representative and WTO ambassador urged the criticised that the "US is setting a very bad precedent by bluntly breaching its commitment made to the world" as it has agreed not to apply such tariffs without approval.

"Unilateralism is fundamentally incompatible with the WTO, like fire and water. In the open sea, if the boat capsizes, no one is safe from drowning. And, we shouldn't stay put watching someone wrecking the boat. The WTO is under siege and all of us should lock arms to defend it," he added.

Zhang asserted that China was prepared to react to any further moves from the US and that it would use WTO rules to safeguard its rights and interests, The Hill reported.

The US on Friday officially filed a trade complaint at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against China over its alleged discriminatory technology licensing practices.

The US trade representative (USTR) filed a request for consultations with China at the WTO to address Beijing's unfair technology practices, according to the Trump administration, The Hill reported.

The US complaint stated, "China appears to be breaking WTO rules by denying foreign patent holders, including US companies, basic patent rights to stop a Chinese entity from using the technology after a licensing contract ends."

"China also appears to be breaking WTO rules by imposing conditions that don't allow US firms the ability to protect their intellectual property," it added.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump imposed massive trade tariffs amounting to USD 60 billion on China, in a move that could escalate into a global trade war, given the accelerating trade tensions between the two countries.

Terming Beijing as its efforts to steal 'intellectual property' from American companies, President Trump signed a memorandum directing the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) and the US Treasury Department to launch a 'broad range of actions' against China.

During an event at the White House, the US President said that imposing tariffs on China is "going to make the US a much stronger and a much richer nation."

On the other hand, China urged the US to cease and desist from endangering trade relations between the two countries. It also said that Beijing did not want a trade war with Washington D.C, but at the same time, was not afraid of a trade war.

In retaliation, China said that it is considering raising tariffs on USD 3 billion worth of US exports ranging from steel, aluminium and American pork among other goods.

Meanwhile, The Dow surged 669 points its third-biggest point gain in history and had its best day in two and a half years.

It was a sharp reversal after the stock market's worst week in two years. The Nasdaq gained 3.3 per cent and the S&P 500 climbed 2.7 per cent respectively, according to CNN.

The Dow's gain of 2.8 per cent was its biggest since August 2015. The only bigger point gains on record were in October 2008, during the global financial crisis.

On Thursday and Friday, the Dow plummeted more than 1,100 points, a decline of 10 per cent from the index's all-time high in January, in the aftermath of President Trump's decision to impose tariffs on Chinese goods.

The Dow, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq suffered their biggest weekly losses since January 2016.