BEIJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- On occasions such as the G20 summit, leaders lashed out at protectionism. However, the seemingly solemn vows are overshadowed by sharply rising protectionist measures, many of which are targeted at China.

According to official statistics, China faced 69 investigations on alleged trade subsidy charges involving about 9.16 billion U.S. dollars from last October to May this year.

In the first quarter of this year, the number of anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard probes rose 18.8 percent globally compared to last year.

Two thirds of the probes involved Chinese products.

In late June, the United States launched three investigations on China's iron products in just ten days. Meanwhile, the European Union's two anti-dumping proceedings in the first half of this year were both targeted at China.

The rich countries are not alone in adopting protectionist policies since the financial crisis began.

Argentina, Russia and India have taken various measures to curb imports. In the second half of last year, India launched 42 anti-dumping investigations. China, India's largest trade partner, was hit the hardest.

Meanwhile, invisible trade barriers have been erected in the name of technology, security and environmental protection. These barriers are also detrimental to China's economic interests. The "carbon tax" is one good example.

In addition, China faces the risk of investment protectionism as indicated by the recent failures of overseas mergers by Chinese enterprises.

Obviously, seemingly solemn promises of fighting protectionism have not been followed by serious actions. This protectionist attitude is rooted in mistrust between trade partners as well as the political and economic conditions of certain countries.

For developed economies like the United States and the European Union, the crisis resulted in huge job losses that weighed on their governments.

While trade surplus has long been a priority for some of the developing countries, it has been their common practice to buy less to counteract the pressure.

However, such "proactive" measures risk triggering retaliations, or even trade wars. They usually result in losses for other industries as one tries to protect the worst hit sectors. In most cases, consumers turn out to be the ones to pay the price, while a handful of enterprises reap the benefits.

Moreover, trade protectionism by no means increases the competitive edge of an industry. Instead, it serves to cover up reluctance in carrying out reforms to boost productivity.

In this age of globalization, the world's nations are becoming increasingly interdependent. The world economy's dependency on trade has sharply risen from 38.7 percent in 1990 to 69.5 percent in 2007. Whether and to what extent we keep our trade open will directly affect the recovery of the global economy.

For all countries, especially the developing ones, it is important to engage in more dialogue with their trade partners and avoid the temptation of quick benefit in favor of long-term well-being.

Exporters, on the other hand, should try to upgrade their products and make them more irreplaceable. They should also learn to protect their own interests through international law and regulations and be more alert to invisible trade bulwarks.

Editor: Mo Hong'e

www.chinaview.cn

Source: news.xinhuanet.com