China sides with developing world in WTO row

This doesn't really surprise me in any way. I've complained about farm subsidies before citing the hypocrisy of Western World trade policies that demand more open markets to sell their products in but then don't reciprocate. But even besides that, farm subsidies in general hurt agriculture and the environment in the long run than just letting the free market dictate how much food should be grown and sold, and where it should be grown in the first place. Though China's developing superpower nature poses many issues for the US to contend with, here's a spot where having multipolar world is probably a good thing. This is yet another example where unchallenged, the US and the EU are not moved to do what's right by other countries and are only moved to cooperate when another big dog bares its teeth.

Here's the story:

China said it stood with the developing world in a row over agriculture subsidies that threatens to derail global trade talks and next month's WTO meeting in Hong Kong.

Developing nations have argued that the chief stumbling block in the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks is the high level of agricultural subsidies in the United States and the European Union, along with barriers to farm imports.

'We hope that the WTO round in Hong Kong will be of a constructive nature and bring benefits to the members of the WTO, particularly the developing members,' Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said in South Korea, according to Agence France-Presse.

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and trade ministers from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum held talks here amid growing fears next month's WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong could end in failure.

APEC members have expressed frustration with the EU's failure to offer substantial cuts in farm subsidies, and today's meeting drew up a hard-hitting statement calling for concessions from all nations without specifically naming the EU.

Li said the finger pointing would not resolve anything, but made it clear that China would stand with developing nations in seeking greater concessions.

'I'm afraid the parties involved need to be constructive -- complaints or blaming sometimes don't have much (effectiveness),' Li said.

'China is a member of the developing world and also a member of the WTO, so we will work together with other parties to seek more progress,' he said.