December 16, 2006	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 24, 1427

BEIJING, Dec 15: China's commerce ministry on Friday expressed regret over the United States' harsh assessment of its compliance with its WTO promises, saying the criticisms were not objective.

The US Trade Representative's office highlighted in an annual report on Monday numerous complaints, including “rampant” piracy of US goods and threatened to sue China at the World Trade Organisation if bilateral talks fail.It also said China's record in implementing WTO commitments is “decidedly mixed”.China's Ministry of Commerce hit back at the US government report in a statement on its website on Friday.

“China has noticed that the United States (has) many criticisms over China's implementation of WTO agreements in the fields of intellectual property rights, industrial policies and the services trade,” it said.

“China believes that many of the US criticisms were not objective, complete or in line with the facts.” “China expresses regret over this and urges the United States to handle bilateral trade relations with an objective and pragmatic attitude,” the statement said.

But the statement also said it appreciated Washington's affirmation of its efforts in meeting its WTO promises and said the two countries should solve their trade disputes through dialogue.

The ministry issued the statement shortly after the close of the high-level two-day Sino-US strategic economic talks in Beijing.

The trade representative's report is mandated by Congress and is Washington's fullest annual examination of how China is faring on market-opening commitments. —AFP