Spokesperson: US probe into trade deal compliance 'false accusations'

China on Friday strongly opposed what it called the United States' "false accusations" and related investigative measures, after the US Trade Representative Office announced a new tariff inquiry into China's compliance with the 2020 "Phase One" trade deal, according to a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

In the statement, the embassy spokesperson said that "as a major country that takes its responsibilities seriously", China has "scrupulously fulfilled its obligations" under the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement.

These obligations include measures to protect intellectual property, increase imports, and expand market access, steps that the spokesperson said have "created a favorable business environment geared to investors of all countries including US companies for them to share the benefits of China's economic development".

The USTR announced the probe just one day before high-ranking US and Chinese trade officials were set to meet in Kuala Lumpur for a fresh round of trade negotiations, the fifth since May.

Citing "China's Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations", a policy document released by China's State Council Information Office in April, the statement noted that since the deal took effect in January 2020, China has worked to overcome "multiple adverse factors", such as the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and the global economic downturn, to ensure the deal's implementation.

The white paper also recalled that the US itself had issued "several statements affirming the effectiveness" of China's efforts.

However, since signing the Phase One deal, "the US has systematically escalated economic and other forms of pressure against China, implementing a series of restrictive measures such as export controls and investment restrictions that repudiate the spirit of the Agreement," the spokesperson said.

Furthermore, the statement noted that Washington has concurrently promoted "false narratives" related to human rights, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang and the pandemic.

Such actions, it said, have done "serious damage to China-US ties as well as economic and trade relations, and disrupted normal trade and investment activities, and significantly undermined the conditions necessary for the implementation of the Agreement".

China urged the United States to "promptly correct its wrong practices" and to "adhere to the important consensuses of the phone calls between the two heads of state".

The spokesperson called on Washington to "protect the hard-won outcomes of consultations", continue to use the bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism, and "address respective concerns and properly manage differences through dialogues on the basis of mutual respect and equal-footed consultation".

Such steps, the statement added, are necessary "to ensure the stable, sound and sustainable development of the China–US economic and trade relationship".