WASHINGTON – The Bush administration declared Tuesday that the United States has entered a new phase in its economic relationship with China, promising “rigorous enforcement” of laws aimed at curbing unfair trade practices.

The pledge was contained in a 29-page administration review of America’s economic relationship with China that was released after the government reported that the United States recorded a $202 billion trade deficit with China last year. That’s the highest ever recorded with a single country and up 25 percent from 2004.

That deficit has brought renewed pressure from Congress for President Bush to be more forceful in cracking down on what China’s critics see as blatant unfair trade practices in currency manipulation, theft of intellectual property and China’s refusal to honor market-opening commitments it made when it became a World Trade Organization member in 2001.

U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, whose office prepared the new review, said the administration intended to use “all options available” to address various problems with China.

“Our U.S.-China trade relationship lacks equity, durability and balance,” Portman said at a news conference. “As a mature trading partner, China should be held accountable for its actions and required to live up to its responsibilities.”

Portman announced a trade enforcement task force in his office that will be headed by a chief counsel for China trade, a new position.

He called it unprecedented for the USTR to devote an enforcement team to a single country. He said previous administrations had not done this when the United States was running huge trade deficits in the ’80s and ’90s with Japan.

Portman said the administration intended to focus on getting China to stop thefts of intellectual property, which American industry claims is costing billions in lost sales annually. It also will focus on persuading China to honor the market-opening commitments it made in joining the WTO.