The high number of trade sanction measures imposed by other countries against China seems to have come as an unavoidable price for the nation's rise to the top of the world's largest exporters last year. But the large share China takes in the global trade, in itself, does not make a case for other countries to resort to protectionism.

If the world is to find a solid footing for lasting recovery from the worst recession in decades, all countries must guard against following the trend of protectionism.

Unfortunately, the latest preliminary anti-dumping duties the United States government slapped on a steel product from China show that the world's largest economy is no stranger to trade protectionism.