China to face WTO challenge over media

The EU and US will launch formal WTO proceedings against China over the country’s financial information rules, the Financial Times reported. Under rules introduced in 2006, the financial information services of foreign firms including Reuters, Dow Jones and Bloomberg legally fall under the control of Xinhua news agency, their state-owned competitor and regulator. The rules mean that foreign media firms are in theory barred from direct contact with Chinese clients, but Xinhua has so far refrained from enforcing them. In February, the WTO ruled against China in a dispute brought to the organization by the US, EU and Canada over car part tariffs. That ruling was China’s first defeat at the WTO.