China is likely to become the main victim of rising trade protectionism against the backdrop of the worsening financial crisis, a top government think-tank cautioned.

"The nation is likely to be the main target of trade protectionism, which will worsen the environment for the nation's exporters," according to a report by the Development Research Center of the State Council.

The nation's export sector has enjoyed brisk growth since its entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 and its trade surplus started to balloon since then. This helped the economy to accumulate $1.95 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world. The growing trade surplus, which hit 295.46 billion yuan in 2008, however, led to trade protectionism measures being adopted by other countries.

The Indian government announced a six-month ban on toy imports from China on Jan 23. Chinese policymakers have said they would file a case at the World Trade Organization against a plan by the US to bar Chinese poultry imports.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, China remains at the top of the list of countries subject to anti-dumping probes since 1995.

With the US introducing the 'Buy America' clause in its stimulus package, protectionism is set to rise globally, the report said.

A World Bank study released this Tuesday showed that 17 of the Group of 20 developed and developing countries have implemented trade-restricting measures since last November.

At the G20 summit on Nov 15, 2008, leaders from the world's 20 major economies pledged to avoid raising trade barriers, but their nations have put in place 47 measures that restrict trade since then.

Chen Deming, commerce minister, said earlier this month that China is firmly opposed to protectionism and would promote the Doha round of trade talks.

The report said, the nation still needs to bolster the development of labor-intensive export sector as it provides around 40 million job opportunities for migrant workers each year.

(China Daily March 21, 2009)