EDITORIAL: "China's News Concession: Trade rules help Beijing's reformers," Wall Street Journal, 17 November 2008.

All this "play by the rules" rhetoric from Obama is de rigeur on trade. The WSJ's editorial simply notes that "China is learning to do precisely that"--thanks to the WTO. Latest example: US, EU and PRC negotiators end fight over financial information suppliers. Xinhua, China's state-owned agency, had been insisting since 2006 that "foreigners hand over private client data and use Xinhua as their sole distribution agent," so we're talking both monopoly and a perfect engine for stealing client lists and business plans. So the Bush Admin filed a suit at the WTO, and after 8 months of talks, Beijing gives in. Hardly a unique occurrence, notes the WSJ: 2004 over semiconductors, 2006 over dumping and in 2007 China files its first suit--against our dumping, naturally. Good stuff, pointing out that "China's accession to the WTO is giving leverage to China's economic reformers"--just like I predicted in PNM five years ago.