By Xinhua writer Liu Guoyuan

    GENEVA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China took the initiative in two WTO disputes on Friday in a rare move reflecting the country's increasing maturity in its use of the global trade regulator to protect its interests.

    China has asked the World Trade Organisation to probe a U.S. ban on Chinese poultry imports and has filed complaints about EU anti-dumping measures against Chinese fasteners.

     CHINA'S LEGITIMATE RIGHT

    The WTO's procedure for resolving disputes is vital for enforcing trade rules and ensuring smooth trade flow. Every WTO member has the right to initiate the procedure when it believes another member is violating an agreement or a commitment that it has made under the WTO, as a way of protecting its own trade interests and ensuring global trade rules are observed.

    This is exactly the purpose of China filing WTO cases against the United States and the European Union.

    According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the United State has completely banned the importation of poultry products from China since 2007 through its annual appropriation acts and other related measures.

    "These unilateral measures fundamentally violate relevant WTO rules, significantly impede the ordinary China-U.S. trade in poultry products, and substantially impair the rights and benefits that Chinese enterprises deserve to enjoy," it said.

    The ministry said the EU's anti-dumping measures "failed to comply with relevant WTO rules in the process, starting from initiation, investigation to the final determination," and they "infringe the legitimate commercial interests of over 1,700 Chinese fastener producers."

　　 A MATURING WTO MEMBER

    Since joining the WTO in 2001, China has made earnest efforts to fulfill its pledges in opening its market and domestic reform and has won praise as a responsible WTO member.

    And as a major trade power, it's natural that China gradually increases its influence in the world commerce body and plays a more mature role in the making and enforcing of WTO regulations.

    China has been actively involved in the Doha Round of global trade talks, and recently it is making more use of the dispute settlement procedure to protect its interests, notably as a plaintiff. This shows its increasing confidence after the first few years in the WTO as a "learner."

    China's stance is also seen as a counter to the rise of protectionism in the United States and Europe because of the financial and economic crisis.

    "These measures are naked discriminative protectionism measures, which are strongly opposed by the Chinese government and enterprises," the Ministry of Commerce said of the U.S. poultry ban on Friday. "The government of China expects that the WTO panel would review this case in a fair and impartial manner to safeguard the ordinary development of international trade."

    Meanwhile, the ministry pointed out that, over the past 30 years, the EU had carried out more than 140 anti-dumping investigations against Chinese products. "The Chinese side opposes consistently any abuse of anti-dumping actions and increasing of trade protectionism."

     "TWO-WAY" OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

    It's only normal for China to be frequently involved in trade disputes because of its huge trade volume, an opinion shared by WTO officials, including Director-General Pascal Lamy.

    "The existence of the dispute system is inevitably a function of trade flows. The more trade you have, the more statistical chances you have to have frictions here and there," Lamy has previously told Xinhua.

    The WTO chief stressed that the dispute settlement procedure was "a two-way street" -- while China can be a target of litigation, it can also bring cases against others.

    While China is expected to be more determined in advancing its interests in the WTO, its overall trade relations with other WTO members, particularly the United States and the EU, will not be affected by any individual WTO dispute.

    "It is hoped that both sides have positive dialogue under the framework of the WTO dispute settlement procedure and find a solution via consultation to meet the concerns of the Chinese side," the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday about the fastener dispute with the EU.

    "Although we are disappointed that China has chosen to pursue a panel in this matter, we are confident that this dispute can be resolved through the WTO dispute settlement system. Therefore, we see no reason that this or any other dispute should have repercussions on any other trade matters between the United States and China," the U.S. delegation also said on Friday about the poultry case.