点击下载音频

    美国和欧盟２３日就中国限制部分工业原材料出口向世界贸易组织提出申诉，要求与中国在世贸组织争端解决机制下展开磋商。

　　美欧申诉书中提到的原材料包括锌、矾土、焦炭、氟石、镁、碳化硅、金属硅和黄磷等。美欧认为，中国对这些产品采取的出口配额、出口税以及最低出口限价等措施对美欧利益造成损害，也违反世贸组织规则和中国加入世贸组织时所作承诺。

　　中国商务部有关负责人２４日表示，中国有关原材料出口的政策符合世贸组织规则。中方有关出口政策的主要目的是保护环境、保护自然资源。

China Says Raw-Material Export Limits Meet WTO Rules

Another legal expert believes the EU and US's complaints are groundless because China's policy is in accordance with the WTO's principles of protecting limited resources.

On Tuesday the Chinese Ministry of Commerce rebutted complaints about China limiting its mineral exports, adding that its policy is compliant with WTO rules.

Earlier, China increased export taxes and reduced quotas on some rare minerals to protect its limited resources and adjust it's rare metal market.

But, the Obama administration and the EU believe that China is using export controls to give its manufacturers cheap access to key rare metals.

Liao fan, an economic law expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says China's export controls are reasonable.

"The most important principle of the WTO is free trade. But there is an exception when a country wants to protect its limited natural resources. China's rare metals are running out, so it has adopted a policy to preserve them."

Liao fan added that under the WTO's mechanisms for solving such issues, the disputes won't be solved in the short term.

"The US and EU complaints now trigger a 60-day consultation period. If the dispute is still not resolved, both sides can formally request a hearing panel from the WTO, which could hear the case for up to a year."

Meanwhile, China's commerce ministry says on Wednesday that it was asking the WTO to set up an experts panel to probe U.S. restrictions on imports of its poultry products.

China is the biggest source of U.S. imports, and the EU's second-largest trading partner.