China has refused a request from the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel to allow a probe into its rules on auto part imports, sought by the United States, the European Union and Canada on Thursday.

Sun Zhenyu, China's commissioner to the World Trade Organization, said China regretted the request from the US, the EU and Canada to set-up a WTO investigation into auto parts despite China's efforts to settle the dispute. China has been sincere in its consultations with the US and EU and still hopes the dispute will be resolved satisfactorily in this way, said Sun.

China has fulfilled the commitments it made to the WTO when it became a member in late 2001, including those on automobiles and auto parts. China has cut import tariffs on automobiles and auto parts and provided unprecedented opportunities for its trading partners, Sun Zhenyu said.

China's regulations on importing auto parts comply with WTO rules. It tries to prevent tax evasion by companies who import whole cars as spare parts to avoid higher tariffs and does not impose a discriminatory tariff on foreign car parts, Sun said.

According to a regulation on the import of vehicles implemented last April, a tariff is applied to a vehicle if more than 60 percent of its parts are imported. The US, the EU and Canada filed a joint complaint with the WTO on March 30, accusing China of violating its commitment to the WTO by imposing discriminatory tariffs on foreign car parts. In March and April, their delegates met with China to discuss the issue but the dispute was not resolved. On September 15, the US, the EU and Canada requested that the WTO form a dispute settlement panel to resolve the issue.

By People's Daily Online