China calls for an end to improper anti-dumping practice

BEIJING - The European Union (EU) and members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) should stop using the analogue country system in anti-dumping reviews on China's exports, said Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), on Wednesday.

Under such a system importers use the production costs in a third country to define the normal value of exports from a non-market economy. The practice usually affects the dumping margin calculation.

Many anti-dumping investigations on Chinese exports were conducted under this mechanism despite China having successfully built a market economy after decades of reform and opening up.

WTO members should stop adopting such practice before Dec 11 this year according to WTO regulations, Shen said at a press conference.

In response to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act just passed by the United States, Shen said that it improved the terms on enforcement of trade-remedy measures but did not target specific countries or regions.

The MOC is optimistic on the trade prospects between China and the United States, and hopes the United States can remain objective and transparent in trade law enforcement, Shen said.