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Japan joins US in WTO action against China
2007-02-16
Japan has confirmed it will join in a US complaint against China at the World Trade Organisation over Beijing's industrial subsidies. "We are planning to participate in the complaint as a third-party country," trade minister Akira Amari told reporters. He said Japan decided to join the complaint after a request from Washington and hoped that China would address the subsidies issue. "We have been providing China with aid and know-how since it joined the WTO so that they can make necessary changes," Amari said. "This action by Japan to join the complaint as a third party is done in a spirit to encourage China to carry out the needed efforts." The United States took China to the WTO on February 2, getting tough after years of quiet diplomacy. The global body will set up a settlement panel if the two nations fail to iron out the dispute within 60 days. The United States alleges that Beijing's state subsidies for steel, paper, information technology and other industries make Chinese goods artificially cheap and prevent US companies from competing fairly. Amari acknowledged that Japanese firms that have Chinese partners have benefited greatly from the protective measures. "But we cannot tolerate it if it breaks the rules," Amari said. China is Japan's largest trade partner, with Japanese companies depending on their giant neighbour as an industrial base and increasingly as a market for consumer goods. Japan and China have recently been repairing relations, with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing currently on a visit to Tokyo to pave the way for a rare trip in April by Premier Wen Jiabao. Japan's ties with China and South Korea were badly strained during the 2001-2006 tenure of then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, primarily over his repeated visits to a controversial war shrine. Despite the efforts to improve relations, Japan and China still have a host of disputes including over oil and gas resources. When bringing the case to the WTO, the United States said it invited its foreign partners including the European Union and Japan to join the case. The United States hauled China to the world body just after the Democrats, who have traditionally been more critical of China on trade issues, took control of the US Congress.
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