China has effectively used trade remedy measures to protect its domestic industries in line with World Trade Organization rules, said an official with the Ministryof Commerce Wednesday.

Wang Qinhua, director of the MOC Bureau for Industrial Damage Investigations, said that from 1997 to July this year, China has registered and investigated 31 anti-dumping complsints and completed 20 of them. There have been final verdicts on 18 cases and non-damage verdicts for two cases. One case was withdrawn by the accuser.

Attending "The Doha Development Round: The Post-Cancun Agenda" international conference here Wednesday, Wang said the anti-dumping cases cover the chemical industry, iron and steel, light industry, textiles and the communication sector.

There is also a case pertaining to protectionist measures in the iron and steel industry in response to similar US measures against China, she added.

The Law concerning Foreign Trade, which took effect on July 1 this year, was enriched with intellectual property rights protection, foreign trade investigation and foreign trade remedy. The range of industrial damage investigation has thus been greatlyexpanded, she said.

Since its entry into the WTO in late 2001, China's industries and market have not been vitally affected, Wang acknowledged. The in-depth problems of China's economic structure, however, will be revealed gradually. It is therefor essential to set up a system ofindustry safeguards, she added.

Though its total trade volume exceeded 800 billion US dollars last year, China was also the leading target of anti-dumping investigation and safeguard measures taken by numerous countries.

Source: Xinhua