(Yicai Global) March 2 -- China has strongly criticized the U.S. for its 2018 Trade Policy Agenda and 2017 Annual Report released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, in which the U.S. administration directed false accusations against the world's second-largest economy.

The agenda and report adhere to the "America first" policy and ignore the fact that China has made huge achievements in developing its market economy and has strictly fulfilled its WTO accession promises over the years, said a senior official of China's ministry of commerce.

Both documents ignore the mutual benefit and win-win nature of trade and economic relations between China and the U.S. and make irresponsible accusations against China's economic models and relevant policies, said the head of the American and Oceanian affairs department of the ministry on its official website, expressing China's grave concerns about such accusations.

China joined the World Trade Organization more than 16 years ago, but it still has not adopted market economy systems that all WTO members wish it can put in place, claimed the 2018 Trade Policy Agenda and 2017 Annual Report released by the USTR, the government agency responsible for developing and recommending trade policy to the U.S. president and conducting trade negotiations.

US Accusations

As the world's second-largest economy, China has an enormous capacity to distort markets worldwide, they claimed, saying China's policies are leading to a serious misallocation of global resources, which makes everyone poorer than they would be in a more efficient market.

As a sovereign country, China is free to implement whatever trade policy it favors. But the U.S. is also free to respond, the documents said. Under President Trump's leadership, the US will use all available tools to prevent China or any other country that emulates its policies from weakening true market competition, they added.

China's Response

China has made great achievements over the past four decades of reform and opening up, which is undeniable. In particular, since joining the WTO, China has earnestly delivered on its promises to cut tariffs and open its market, stood against protectionism, strengthened property rights protection, promoted fair competition, and pushed forward economic globalization with real actions, senior ministry of commerce official responded.

China has actively participated in the reform and building of global governance systems and championed multilateral trade systems, reflecting that China has fulfilled its responsibilities to safeguard international economic order. China's development has provided a big source of momentum for the global economy, and China contributed to more than 30 percent of world economic growth last year, the official added.

China has always believed that economic and trade cooperation is neither counter-balanced competition nor zero-sum game. Trade and economic cooperation between China and the U.S. has brought real benefits to the two countries and their peoples. As the world's two largest economies, disagreements and frictions over trade between China and the US are normal. The key is to manage disagreements in a constructive manner and expand common interests rather than by politicizing trade issues or threatening to take unilateral actions.

As China's President Xi Jinping has pointed out, cooperation is the only right choice for China and the U.S. We hope the U.S. can work with China to jointly strengthen communications, open up markets to each other, expand cooperation, properly handle issues of mutual concerns, and promote the stable and healthy development of bilateral trade and economic relations, the official said.