Anti-dumping charges against Chinese manufacturers by foreign countries totaled 500 by the end of 2002, costing China billions in lost export revenues, a trade official said on Saturday.

Wang Qinhua, chief of the Bureau of Industry Injury of Investigation of China's Ministry of Commerce, said the number of anti-dumping cases against China accounts for 14 percent of the global total, ranking first in the world.

The official said trade protectionism through anti-dumping suits around the world is growing, exerting new pressure on China's foreign trade.

Anti-dumping moves against China have become one of the major obstacles to the development of China's foreign trade, Wang told a forum on the sidelines of China Beijing International Science and Technology Industrial Expo, which ends today.

The number of anti-dumping cases lodged by overseas countries against Chinese manufacturers reached 55 in 2001, a record high, and the figure stood at 47 in 2002, Wang said.

Wang said China will make better use of the trade dispute mechanism of the World Trade Organization to protect the interests and rights of Chinese firms.

China's major lighter producers have won an anti-dumping suit launched by their European counterparts, the first victory Chinese firms have won against anti-dumping action filed by European firms since China joined the World Trade Organization.

Wenzhou is the major production center for lighters with about 500 lighter producers, which export 600 million lighters a year, mostly to Europe.

Led by the Association of Lighter Producers in Wenzhou, Chinese lighter makers challenged the charge, and cooperated with EU investigators, who traveled to Wenzhou several times for field investigation.

Zhou said Chinese lighter producers provided enough evidence to prove that European counterparts have not been damaged severely.

Anti-dumping is a two-way street as China has registered 25 anti-dumping cases against overseas producers since 1997, when it issued its regulation on anti-dumping and subsidies.

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