Brussels, 07/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - Several sources close to EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson confirmed on Wednesday 6 February that the European Commission has not ruled out referring China to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over restrictions on financial information supplied by foreign press agencies. The Commission accuses China of banning foreign press agencies from selling news directly to Chinese media. In November 2007, Canada, the United States, Japan and the EU filed a complaint at the WTO about China's restrictions on foreign press agencies. In September 2006, China reaffirmed the monopoly of the official press agency, New China, for the dissemination and publication of business and financial news, a market thus far dominated by foreign press agencies like Reuters and Bloomberg. Peter Power, the Commissioner's spokesperson, told AFP that it was a vital issue that the EU had brought up several times with China and now wanted a decision to be taken on how the case was to be followed up. Sources close to Peter Mandelson said results had to be seen, failing which, the EU would have no choice but to continue its case through other means, but dialogue was the preferred option, not ruling out the option of taking the case to the WTO if a solution could not be found in any other way. The commissioner's department explained that Peter Mandelson had been complaining about problems faced by foreign suppliers of financial news in China since 2006, when China announced measures to regulate their activity. The trade commissioner now wants to find a solution to restore competition on the Chinese market for European companies, explained his department. The EU is also reported to be in talks with the United States over lodging a joint complaint at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. (E.H.)