The United States hopes it will not have to take legal action to persuade China to fix several trade problems that have strained relations, the top US trade official said on Friday.
"Quite frankly, I'd rather not litigate in the World Trade Organisation," US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in an interview taped for C-Span television's "The Newsmakers," which will air on Sunday. "I would rather have China fix the problem whether it's a market access problem or a problem related to intellectual property or so on," she said.
Schwab will travel to China in late August after attending the annual economics ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, next week.
The United States, the European Union and Canada already have taken one step toward a WTO case against China for tariff policies they said discriminate against foreign auto parts. Washington also has been considering another case aimed at getting Beijing to toughen its enforcement of laws against pirating and counterfeiting goods. American companies estimate they lose billions of dollars in China each year because of the fake goods, some of which end up back in the United States.
Schwab said she planned to discuss both issues with her Chinese counterpart, as well as US concern that China honour commitments to open its financial services market.
The United States also wants China to become much more engaged in nearly 5-year-old world trade talks, which were suspended last month after countries failed to agree on how much to cut agricultural and manufacturing tariffs. Many developing countries are concerned if they open their markets they will be swamped with Chinese goods, Schwab said. China must show developing countries it will open its own market to help lift them out of poverty, she said.