China Says U.S. Interests Don't Define WTO ‘Developing Nation’

(Bloomberg) -- China said the classification of a country as a “developing nation” shouldn’t be defined by the interests of the U.S., after President Donald Trump ordered his top trade negotiator to pressure the World Trade Organization to crack down on some economies that declared themselves as such.

The reform of the WTO should not be gripped by a few “hegemony countries,” the state-run People’s Daily said in an editorial on Sunday.

On Friday, Trump singled out China in a memo to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that gave the latter 90 days to determine whether there’s been “substantial progress” toward limiting the number of countries considered developing nations. The U.S. may act unilaterally if not, Trump said.

The 90-day deadline to see if the WTO has made improvements in the matter lays bare the “arrogance and impudence” of the U.S., according to the People’s Daily editorial.

China hasn’t abused the special treatment accorded to it as a developing nation, the paper said.

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