China Says Tire Spat Shouldn't Hurt US Ties

A worker plays with a screw nut next to a tire store in Beijing, China, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009....

A worker plays with a screw nut next to a tire store in Beijing, China, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009. President Barack Obama's decision to impose trade penalties on Chinese tires has infuriated Beijing at a time when the United States badly needs Chinese help on climate change, nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea and the global economy. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

(AP)

China tried Tuesday to allay fears of a trade war with Washington over tire tariffs, saying it will press a World Trade Organization case against new U.S. duties but wants to avoid harming relations.

"U.S. and Chinese trade and economic relations are the most important bilateral relations. We don't want to see anything bad happen to bilateral relations," said a Commerce Ministry spokesman, Yao Jian, at a news conference.

Beijing filed a WTO complaint Monday challenging the higher tariffs on U.S. imports of Chinese-made tires as a violation of free-trade rules. President Barack Obama approved the duties Friday to slow the rapid growth of imports that a labor union blamed for the loss of thousands of U.S. jobs.

The case adds to a string of trade disputes at a time when Beijing and Washington are cooperating on sensitive issues including the global economic crisis, climate change and efforts to end North Korea's nuclear program.

The conflict is a potential irritant as Washington and Beijing prepare for a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24-25 to discuss efforts to end the worst global downturn since the 1930s. Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, are due to attend and both governments want the meeting to be a success.

Beijing's unusually prompt response to the tire tariffs showed the urgency Chinese leaders attach to maintaining exports and jobs amid weak global demand. But the decision to go through the WTO appeared to reflect a desire to keep the dispute contained and avoid damage to other parts of the relationship.

Yao repeated Beijing's rejection of the tire duties as an improper trade barrier but said Beijing wants to settle the dispute through negotiation and stressed the importance to both sides of close relations.

"The source of the financial crisis was in the United States. So the U.S. side, as a developed country, should use protectionist measures less or use them cautiously," Yao said. However, he added later, "We have consensus in a lot of trade and economic fields. We will negotiate the conflicts under this general framework."