With the reduction of tariffs and the phasing out of non-tariff measures as required by the WTO, China is likely to see an increasing number of cases in which foreign dumped products injure Chinese industries, said Wang Qinhua of the commission's Bureau of Industrial Injury Investigation.

The country has initiated 18 anti-dumping investigations, most of which are about chemical products. It filed five anti-dumping cases in March alone, the most cases in a single month since China enacted its Anti-Dumping Law in 1997, according to the bureau's latest statistics.

The anti-dumping measures that China has adopted are instrumental to maintaining a sound and fair trade order and safeguarding domestic industry, Wang said at a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the launch of China's official anti-dumping website (www.cacs.gov.cn).

Likewise, the country is expected to face an increasing number of anti-dumping charges imposed on its exports, Wang said.

China now faces more anti-dumping charges than any other countries.

Chinese companies have been involved in 493 foreign anti-dumping cases so far, said Zhang Zhigang, vice-minister of the commission.

Some experts said the relatively low price of Chinese products and the rapid rise in China's exports have triggered such a large number of anti-dumping actions.

The experts said the competitive edge of some labor-intensive Chinese products on the international market may have led to anti-dumping actions from some developed countries, who fear their products risk being forced out of the market.

Zhang said: "It is imperative for China to adopt anti-dumping, anti-subsidiary and protective measures to regulate international trade order and to protect the security of domestic industry.''

To this end, the commission has turned its anti-dumping website into an e-governance platform, enabling the Bureau of Industrial Injury Investigation to work in a more efficient and transparent fashion, he said.

An electronic platform of this nature is important for China to collect anti-dumping data and formulate appropriate measures -- and respond actively to anti-dumping charges -- in a timely and accurate way, said Bao Fusuo, an official at the Ministry of Information Industry.

The official website was updated Sunday to further improve the level of transparency in the conduct of anti-dumping investigations and the application of anti-dumping measures, according to Zhang Yong, another official of the Bureau of Industry Injury Investigation.

(People's Daily May 13, 2002)