The United States' latest attempt to coerce the World Trade Organization into changing the developing-nation status of some WTO member countries is destined to hit a wall of opposition.

In a memorandum it issued on Friday purportedly to promote WTO reform, the US administration threatened action by the US Trade Representative if "substantial progress" toward changes to the special and differentiated treatment for developing economies was not made within 90 days.

When it comes to the reform of one of the world's most important multilateral organizations, messing with its basic principle and trying to replace its rules with US laws are bound to end in failure.

The special and differentiated treatment is a basic right endowed to the WTO members with developing-country status. More important, it is a pillar of the organization. It takes into full consideration the gaps between developing and developed countries, embodies the inclusiveness of the multilateral trading system and serves the long-term interests of all countries.

These gaps are comprehensive in nature: per capita income, technological strength, economic structure and quality of development, to name a few. As there is no simple, universal definition of a "developed" or "developing" country, any assessment of a country's development level must be done based on an overall perspective and economic facts. However, the US is attempting to "upgrade" some developing member countries by overstressing selective indicators, in order to deprive them of the legitimate rights and interests they are entitled to by virtue of their actual status.

This is not only controversial but also a sure recipe for chaos, as it would put new obstacles in the way of WTO reforms. The US memo pointed the finger at China and other developing countries while conveniently ignoring the yawning gap between China and the developed countries in terms of economic and social development.

True, China has become the world's second-largest economy, but it is also the largest developing country. China's per capita GDP was only 15 percent that of the US in 2017, and it has a prominent imbalanced development problem, with more than 10 million people still living in extreme poverty.

China has never used the special and differentiated treatment as an excuse to shun its due obligations. Since becoming a WTO member in 2001, it has actively safeguarded the multilateral trading system and made widely recognized contributions to global free trade and investment. By contrast, the US has trampled WTO rules and undermined the rights and interests of developing countries for its own benefit, casting a shadow over multilateralism, and jeopardizing free trade and the world economy.

The timing of the US move indicates it could use the memo as a new bargaining chip in the upcoming 12th round of China-US high-level economic and trade consultations. The US tactic of imposing pressure is nothing new, only that it has never worked.

The US needs to show good faith at the trade talks. If it plans to do otherwise－flex its economic muscles, for example, to harm the Chinese economy－China is ready to face it and nullify its designs.

Xinhua The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.