President Obama's promise to go after China's unfair trade practices is on track to be fulfilled.

Obama's pledge got an important boost after Congress codified a special trade enforcement unit to tackle potential violations of international trade.

In February 2012, Obama created the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center via executive order. It was designed to coordinate responses to potential violations of international trade agreements from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury.

When we last looked at this promise, we noted that Obama had requested funding and support for the unit in his 2014 and 2015 budget proposals.

In early 2016, Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 into law, permanently establishing the successor to the 2012 center: the Interagency Center on Trade Implementation, Monitoring and Enforcement. The legislation also authorized $15 million per year for trade enforcement efforts.

While the USTR and the center don't specify China in their missions, it has been the target of the bulk of U.S. trade enforcement actions.

"By and large, the Obama administration has made good on the promise," said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who studies U.S. trade policy. "There has absolutely been a significant ramping up of enforcement action under this administration, most of it directed at China."

The Obama administration has brought 19 cases before the World Trade Organization, 12 of them against China. The WTO has ruled against China in each of the six settled cases.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is another tool of the Obama administration to put pressure on China. (President-elect Donald Trump has said he will pull out of the pact.)

China is not a member state, but experts say the deal should move China to conform to global trade norms. Alden pointed to the chapter on state-owned enterprises in particular. Among other things, TPP ensures that enforceable rules also apply to entities owned or controlled by governments.

"The only member nation that has them is Vietnam, and nobody really cares about Vietnam," he said. "This was intended to set down a marker for China."

Although Alden believes the administration could have been more aggressive in messaging about China's unfair trade practices, it has fulfilled its pledge overall.

We rate this Promise Kept.