In April 2014, the Ministry of Commerce integrated some of the business functions of the former Bureau of Fair Trade and the former Bureau of Industrial Damage Investigation and officially established the Bureau of Trade Remedy and Investigation. This newly-established bureau positively responded to trade frictions, carried out trade remedy and investigation according to law, promoted benign interaction between the response to trade frictions and the investigation of trade remedy and explored organic integration between trade policies and industrial policies. New progresses were made in all work.
I. Major trade friction cases such as wireless telecom equipments of the Europe Union were successfully dealt with. In May 2013, the European Commission launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations to Chinese wireless telecom equipment. The Bureau of Trade Remedy and Investigation endeavored to properly settle trade disputes through dialogues and negotiations according to the instructions of ministry leaders. After several rounds of arduous negotiations with the EU, both sides reached consensus and the EU finally gave up the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations, which retained the important export market of Chinese industries and eliminated the significant concerns affecting the China-EU trade and economic relations. Besides, the bureau innovated responding thoughts, guaranteed the smooth and steady implementation of the commitment agreement of China-EU photovoltaic price by such forms as negotiations, and promoted the European Commission to lower the price floor once again, which consolidated the fruits of the photovoltaic case. The bureau innovated closure modes to promote business circles of both sides to reach an accommodation in the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation cases of European wine, and polycrystalline silicon case to reach the arrangement of price commitment. Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng spoke highly of the proper solution of the above series of cases.
II. Positive achievements were obtained in responding to major U.S. and Australian cases. In the series of trade remedy cases of the U.S. against China, legal defense was increased, industrial defense was guided and the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization and the U.S. judicial system were fully used to challenge the wrong practice of the United States with favorable results. Breakthroughs were made in responding to some important subsidy projects and some cases were finally closed without prejudice. Efforts were made to enable Australia to finally give up its anti-subsidy investigation against Chinese photovoltaic products by negotiations. Enterprises were guided to successfully respond to trade barriers such as the 337 investigation of the United States.
III. Trade friction with developing countries was properly resolved. The spirit of the speech “Mutual Respect and Win-Win Cooperation” delivered by President Xi Jinping was implemented to guide Chinese enterprises and guild to actively respond to lawsuits and properly deal with trade friction with developing countries. With regard to the anti-subsidy investigation, communication with investigatory organizations of developing countries were strengthened, Chinese concerns were expressed according to WTO rules, initiative was taken to publicize Chinese policies to clear up misunderstandings and three anti-subsidy cases against Chinese export products were properly dealt with. Up to now, no developing countries have taken any anti-subsidy measures against Chinese products. In major cases of anti-dumping and supporting measures, efforts were made to guide guild and responding enterprises to carry out legal defense, take advantage of multilateral and bilateral channels to express the Chinese government’s concerns and set up cooperative platforms within businesses. No final measures were taken on many cases or price undertaking was taken. All of these practices have effectively safeguarded China's export market.
IV. Trade remedy measures were implemented according to law. According to the requirements of “administration by law”, the amending of the regulations pf trade remedy investigation departments was launched and the procedure system of anti-dumping hearing rules was improved to raise normalization and transparency. Early warning of industries was strengthened and coordination and unity of trade policies and industrial policies was actively explored. Three anti-dumping cases were newly filed, six first trial investigations were finished and positive final decision were made, four review investigations were completed and two anti-dumping measures were stopped. The arbitrament of WTO dispute cases such as white feather broiler and oriented silicon steel was properly implemented.
V. Efforts were made to actively participate in the multilateral and bilateral rules negotiations. Efforts were made to carefully carry out the notification requirements of anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and supporting measures and study the Post-Bali rules negotiations and relevant topics. According to the general deployment of the free trade zone negotiations of the MOFCOM, efforts were made to closely take part in the trade remedy rules negotiations in the negotiation of the free trade zone agreements, make contributions to the successful signing of the China-ROK and China-Australia free trade agreements, urge the ROK to promise to forbid the practice of “surrogate country” and realize a major breakthrough in the field of trade remedy rules.
VI. Construction of the trade remedy mechanism was strengthened. The coordinative contact mechanism with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Customs and the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, local commercial departments and guild was enhanced, the national working conference on trade remedy was convened to study and deploy trade friction response and trade remedy investigation work, the dialogues on cooperative mechanisms of trade remedy with eight key countries (regions) were held and efforts were made to take part in the Second BRICKS Trade Remedy Seminar to communicate, increase mutual trust and resolve friction.