China said on Friday that world trade rules in the 21st century should not be written by a single country, in response to U.S. President Obama's remarks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
"TPP allows America -- and not countries like China -- to write the rules of the road in the 21st century," Obama said after representatives of 12 nations signed the pact in New Zealand on Thursday.
"We have never suggested that global trade rules in the 21st century could be written by China or any other single country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing.
China has always maintained the World Trade Organization should lead the formulation of global trade rules. China hopes major trade powers and economies will uphold the role of the WTO, Lu said.
Lu said it is understandable that some countries may need to explain the advantages and disadvantages of FTA arrangements to their domestic industries.
"Such explanation should be based on facts, rather than politics," Lu said. "It shouldn't lead people to conclude that the U.S. promotes the TPP out of geopolitical considerations. Otherwise, it misleads the public and is not good for international relations."
The TPP involves Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
