Saturday, reports said that a nonprofit US-based free speech group has petitioned US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, to invoke World Trade Organization treaties to contest China's internet censorship as a breach of the international trade rules to which China, as a WTO member, is subject.
Reports said that the U.S. can argue that China's "Great Firewall" - a system of filters that effectively shutters the country within its own intranet - is an illegal restraint on international trade because it prevents foreign companies from competing, through the Internet, in the huge Chinese market.
WTO sanctions have teeth because they can be enforced through other countries' raising of tariffs against Chinese exports.
For the U.S. government, playing the WTO card would also demonstrate seriousness about curbing Chinese censorship, while confining the dispute to an international legal process, reports noted.
Kirk's office has reportedly confirmed that it was in talks with the First Amendment Coalition and other groups on the issues.
President Barack Obama says ensuring that the intellectual property of the United States is properly protected from theft is crucial in reviewing the country's trade deals. He says this is true for China and these issues have to be addressed.
Friday, Beijing said that the allegations that Chinese hackers penetrated computer systems of several U.S. companies, including Google Inc (GOOG) are baseless. China also condemned Washington's criticism of its controls over the internet and online censorship.
China says the US support for the internet giant Google and its threat to pull out of China over claims of cyber attacks is harming bilateral relations.
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