China urges to protect 'hard-won outcomes' as US launches probe into 2019 trade deal

ISTANBUL

Beijing on Friday urged the Washington to "promptly correct its wrong practices and protect the hard-won outcomes of consultations," after the US Trade Representative (USTR) launched an investigation of China’s implementation of the 2019 "Phase One" trade agreement between the two sides.

"As a major country that takes its responsibilities seriously, China has scrupulously fulfilled its obligations in the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement by protecting intellectual property, increasing imports, and providing greater market access," Liu Pengyu, spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in the US, said on US social media company X.

The USTR on Friday launched the Section 301 investigation into China’s implementation of the Economic and Trade Agreement that the two countries signed in 2019, stressing that Beijing agreed to make structural changes to correct distortive acts, policies, and practices in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, and financial services, and included certain issues with the deal.

Liu expressed China's "firm opposition" to "false accusations and related review measures."

"Since signing the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement, the US has systematically escalated economic and other forms of pressure against China, implementing a series of restrictive measures such as export controls and investment restrictions that repudiate the spirit of the Agreement," Liu said, adding that these actions did "serious damage to the bilateral and trade ties.