China ramps up lobbying for market economy status

The Financial Times reports China is intensifying lobbying to gain “market economy status” under the World Trade Organization despite growing opposition in Europe and the US to a move that would make it harder to bring anti-dumping cases against Beijing. Washington and many European politicians, under pressure from protesters fretting about the impact of Chinese imports on jobs, are seeking to block automatic MES for Beijing, which China says should be accorded in December — the 15th anniversary of its 2001 accession to the WTO. Instead, the US and Europe want to gain a few years’ reprieve by requiring China to jump through the hoops for MES when it contests its next anti-dumping case at the WTO.