Over the past decade, Beijing has regressed on market reform and trade practices in a way that is “very disturbing”, according to Charlene Barshefsky, the former US trade representative who helped China join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In a wide-ranging interview with SCMP about China’s economic growth and relations with Washington, Barshefsky points to Beijing’s deviation from market principles and inaction by previous US administrations for contributing to the current impasse.