China vows to uphold multilateral trading system: commerce minister

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- China is committed to safeguarding an open, inclusive, transparent and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, said Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Friday during a video call with Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

During the video call, the two sides exchanged views on issues such as responding to the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the United States, maintaining the multilateral trading system, and giving play to the role of the WTO, according to a statement released by China's commerce ministry on Saturday.

Wang said the fabrication of "reciprocal tariffs" out of thin air by the United States is a typical practice of unilateral bullying. These tariffs will inflict serious harm on developing countries, especially the least developed nations, and could even trigger humanitarian crises.

Wang called on WTO members to unite and counter unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying practices through openness, cooperation, and multilateralism.

Okonjo-Iweala said that escalating trade tensions have posed serious challenges to global trade and economic growth prospects. WTO members should work together to defend an open, rules-based multilateral trading system and resolve differences through dialogue and cooperation under the WTO framework.