In response to the United States saying that "It's still not the right time to grant China market economy status", China claims that the status has no relation to the ending of the surrogate country system.

As a condition of joining the WTO, China agreed in 2001 that other WTO members could treat it as a "non-market economy" for 15 years ending on Dec.11, 2016. As the deadline draws near, China has asked the other countries to fulfill their obligations. 

"China has asked the US not to mix up the market economic status with ending the surrogate country system. China asks the US to fulfill Article 15 of the WTO and keep bilateral relations developing smoothly," said Shen Danyang, China Ministry of Commerce.