Trade environment "challenging"

A Ministry of Commerce report has criticized the US and other trading partners for hampering the flow of low-priced Chinese goods, the Wall Street Journal reported. The ministry said in its annual market access survey that its trade partners increasingly resorted to antidumping petitions and other technical measures. China was the subject of 63 separate investigations by 18 countries in 2005, during which time its trade surplus tripled to a record US$101.88 billion. Trade friction will be an important topic of conversation for President Hu Jintao when he visits Washington later this month. "With China's global market share increasing, Chinese companies will, for a long time to come, face an increasingly challenging environment for international trade and investment," the report said. Last week the European Union and the US filed a request with the World Trade Organization to hold formal talks with China over tariffs on imported auto parts.