U.S. Sees Progress by China on Trade

China did a better job of meeting its international trade obligations in 2004 but still fell seriously short in many areas of importance to the United States, the Bush administration said in a new report.

Saturday was the third anniversary of Beijing’s entry into the World Trade Organization after 15 years of negotiation.

The U.S. trade representative’s office, in a report released without fanfare late Monday, said U.S. companies and other “stakeholders were significantly more satisfied with China’s WTO performance in 2004 than in the previous two years.”

“Nevertheless, serious problems remain, and new problems emerge regularly,” the trade office said. “Most seriously, China’s implementation of its WTO commitments has lagged in many areas of U.S. competitive advantage, particularly where innovation or technology play a key role.”

The Commerce Department released trade figures Tuesday showing the U.S. trade deficit with China at $131.1 billion in the first 10 months of 2004, surpassing the record $124 billion for all of 2003.

Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.) accused the Bush administration of contributing to that trade gap by too often turning a blind eye when China shirked WTO rules.

“China complies with the WTO commitments that it deems convenient, and it flouts other obligations until the United States expends political capital on them,” Levin said.

The United States became the first country this year to file a WTO case against China in a dispute over tax policies that Washington said discriminated against imported semiconductors. The case was resolved without the WTO having to rule on the matter when China agreed to change the policy.

Washington “will not hesitate” to file additional cases to ensure China lives up to its WTO obligations, and will strictly enforce trade laws to ensure U.S. companies and workers are not harmed by unfair Chinese practices, the trade office said.

The administration report singled out China’s lax enforcement of copyright and patent protections as an area of particular concern.