China expressed concerns on four aspects of bilateral trade to the United States during the fifth Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said on Thursday.

The four aspects were free trade in textiles, the expansion of high-tech trade, China's market economy status, and how both countries could work against misuse or abuse of remedy measures or protectionist measures such as anti-dumping or countervailing measures.

The global financial crisis was spreading from the fictitious economy to the substantial economy, Chen said. China's production, particularly for export markets, had been seriously affected by the shrinking global market since October.

Given this, Chen said, China and the United States should stand together against protectionism in trade or investment.

"Reflecting on the Great Depression in the 1930s, we can see that several nations adopted protectionist measures, which caused more disastrous consequences," he added.

Chen said one way to identify protectionist measures was using the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). If trade remedy measures were allowed by the WTO, they should not be regarded as protectionism, he said.

China and the United States opened the SED on Thursday.

The two-day talks were co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, both as special representatives of their respective national leaders.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2008)