China joined the WTO 16 years ago. At that time, the country was put on a "non-market economy" list. That means the value of products from China was calculated based on costs of production in a third country -- potentially misleading anti-dumping measures. The original WTO agreement with China called for the surrogate country approach to expire last year. But that didn't happen. First, the European Union denied granting China market economy status. And earlier this month, the US submitted a statement supporting the EU decision.  

China's Ministry of Commerce responded with a statement that "China is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposes the rejection, as the US government tried to mix the concepts of the surrogate country approach and market economy status to mislead the public."

So far, 81 countries have recognized China as a market economy. They include Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, and Peru.