China accuses Taiwan of ‘violating’ international trade rules

ISTANBUL

China on Thursday charged Taiwan with “violating” international trade rules.

In its initial findings during an ongoing probe into Taiwan's trade restrictions, China’s Commerce Ministry said Taipei’s restrictions on imports from mainland China violate the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Shu Jueting, spokeswoman for the ministry, said the island nation's trade restrictions on Chinese mainland goods “violate the WTO's non-discrimination principle and the rule against quantitative restrictions,” Beijing-based daily Global Times reported.

In April, Beijing launched a probe against Taiwan, which China considers its “breakaway province,” for imposing trade barriers on 2,455 import items from the mainland.

The ongoing probe may extend until Jan. 12, 2024, the ministry said, adding more items are being investigated.

At the time Beijing had begun the probe, Zhu Fenglian, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, had said: “Taiwan authorities have long adopted unilateral restrictions on the import of more than 2,400 products from the mainland, which have damaged the interests of related industries and enterprises in the mainland.”