US commerce nominee calls China 'most protectionist' country

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, US President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for commerce secretary, voiced sharp criticism of China’s trade practices on Wednesday, telling senators he would seek new ways of combating them, Reuters reports. Ross, who made his fortune turning around troubled companies in steel, auto parts, textiles and other industries, called China the “most protectionist” country among large economies, with high tariff and non-tariff barriers to imports. The 79-year-old billionaire vowed to level the playing field for US companies competing with Chinese imports and those trying to do business in China. Chinese officials, he said, “talk much more about free trade than they actually practice. We would like to levelize that playing field and bring the realities a bit closer to the rhetoric.” Ross said state-owned enterprises in China were a particular problem that needed to be dealt with.