Progress with China on Trade Matters Becoming 'Increasingly Difficult'

China appears to be flouting the spirit of its WTO commitments and that is keeping the U.S. and others at bay as they seek more access to the market, according to a senior Trump administration official. "Progress on a range of bilateral economic issues [with China] has become increasingly difficult," the official told reporters during a briefing ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to Asia and China. "We believe this reflects a slowdown and even a retreat in China's move toward a market-oriented economy.China is now so large that its distortionary practices not only have effects within the U.S. market, but in markets around the world." While China had initially made reforms and improved access to their market, the official said, "I think what we're seeing is a trajectory of retrenchment, a trajectory of moving away from market-based principles. And as member of the WTO, that is not a sustainable direction." The U.S. decision last week to calculating antidumping duties on China based on the view the country is not yet a market economy sets the stage for a potential showdown at the WTO between China, the U.S. and other countries.