China slams Trump advisor's 'absurd' WTO comments

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It is both absurd and ridiculous that some in the U.S. are hinting at excluding China from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and accusing the world's second-largest economy of misbehavior, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang.

Kevin Hassett, Chairman of U.S. President Donald Trump's Council of Economic Advisors, went on record as saying there could be a case for "evicting China" from the WTO during a BBC interview on Wednesday.

He added China had "misbehaved" as a member of the WTO, and the U.S. had been failed by the organization.

"WTO acts as a multilateral organization and all its members are equal. It makes no sense for some of the U.S. to hint at 'evicting' China from WTO. Though it is both absurd and ridiculous, it to some degree reflects Washington's arrogance and pursuit of power politics," Geng said.

"Disputes among WTO members should be resolved through negotiation and consultation. It is very dangerous to come up with the rash idea of expelling others from an organization when disputes exist."

"The United States has withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council and Universal Postal Union (UPU), as well as an array of international instruments as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). For such moves, People have their fair judgment," he said.

In July this year, the WTO conducted its seventh trade policy review (TPR) of China, after which the organization admired China's bolster of the multilateral trading system and highly appreciated China's growing role in the WTO, Geng added.

He also underscored China's commitment to the transparent world economy and multilateral trading system revolving around WTO, noting China is a steadfast advocate of multilateralism and rules-based global order.