Tuesday, December 12, 2006

China rejects U.S. trade complaints

BEIJING - China on Tuesday rejected U.S. complaints that it is failing to live up to market-opening commitments on the eve of a visit to Beijing by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to discuss currency and other contentious issues.

"We have implemented our obligations and commitments earnestly and have abided by the rules of the World Trade Organization," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

Qin rejected a U.S. government report released Monday that said China has failed to live up to WTO pledges and warned that Washington would not hesitate to pursue sanctions.

The report came amid a flurry of news on China's soaring trade surplus and complaints about market access that highlighted the complexity of the challenge facing Paulson and his Chinese counterparts.

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