Twenty years after China's WTO entry: China opens a window of opportunity for the world
Twenty years ago, China successfully joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and officially became the 143rd member of the WTO.
In the past 20 years, China has fully fulfilled its WTO commitments, unswervingly expanded its opening up, and forged itself to benefit the world.
In the past 20 years, China has been deeply integrated into the global trading system. Its economic scale has increased from 4% of the world economy in 2001 to 17.4% in 2020, and its exports of goods have increased by more than 7 times, prompting China to become the second largest in the world. Large economy and the world's largest trading country in goods.
In the past 20 years, opening up to the outside world has also forced domestic reforms.
China has developed from a relatively closed and backward economy on the margins of the world economic system to a highly open super-large economy that has gradually become the center of the world economic system.
Now, opening up China sets out again.
China actively participated in and led the establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), actively promoted the China-Europe Comprehensive Investment Agreement (CAI) negotiations, and actively applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), the highest level of international trade Investment agreement and actively participate in the WTO reform process.
Long Yongtu, former vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and chief negotiator for China’s resumption of customs and accession to the WTO, said when summing up China’s WTO experience: Fortune, won a great victory, and even won a major turning point for the entire era."
Fully fulfill the "entry into the WTO" commitments
During the 4th China International Import Expo, "A new chapter of opening-up milestones and win-win cooperation-the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization" was held in the North Hall of the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai).
A wooden mallet, a signature pen, a stack of protocols, and eight white papers all attracted people to stop.
Back in time on December 11, 2001, after nearly 6 years of arduous negotiations, China finally successfully knocked on the door of the World Trade Organization.
The predecessor of the WTO was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which came into effect temporarily in 1948.
On July 10, 1986, Qian Jiadong, a member of the Permanent Mission of China, submitted a note condensed into 340 English words to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Since then, China's customs resumption procedure has officially started.
This day is the starting point of China's 15-year WTO accession, and the long negotiations on "return to customs" and "accession to the WTO" have begun.
On November 10, 2001, the Chinese became the focus of the World Trade Organization Conference for the first time.
At 18:39 that day, Kamal, the chairman of the conference and the then Minister of Finance, Economy and Trade of Qatar, announced that the conference passed the decision of China to join the WTO and sounded the gavel.
At this moment, it embodies China's 15-year arduous efforts in negotiating the resumption of customs and accession to the WTO.
In the 20 years since its accession to the WTO, China has always been a staunch defender of the multilateral trading system.
my country has resolutely abolished or revised some of the laws and regulations that do not comply with WTO rules and the promise of "accession to the WTO", and a total of more than 2,300 laws, regulations and departmental rules have been cleaned up.
At the same time, the legal system for trade promotion and trade relief has been gradually improved, and the legal system for protecting intellectual property rights has been promoted to promote the legalization of foreign economic and trade.
In terms of reducing tariffs and reducing non-tariff barriers, as of January 2005, most of China's tariff reduction commitments had been implemented.
In 2015, China's overall tariff level has dropped to 9.8%, and the tariff binding rate has been maintained at 100% since 2005.
Li Chunding, a leading professor at China Agricultural University and director of the Institute of International Economics, wrote that if the trade structure is taken into account, my country's actual trade-weighted average tax rate is only 4.4%, which is very close to the level of developed member countries.
In order to further open up the market, since 2015, my country has taken the initiative to lower import tariffs on daily consumer goods many times.
Especially in May 2018, the import tariffs on consumer goods were significantly reduced, and they were implemented from July 1 of the same year.
The tax cuts this time involve a total of 1,449 tax items, covering more than 70% of the tax items of daily consumer goods. The average tax rate has been reduced from 15.7% to 6.9%, and the average drop is as high as 55.9%.
In terms of expanding service market opening, China has fulfilled its WTO commitments and provided overseas service providers with extensive market access opportunities including finance, telecommunications, logistics, tourism, and education.
Among the 160 sub-sectors of the WTO's service trade classification, China has opened nearly 120.
On the basis of the trial implementation of the negative list for foreign investment access in the early stage, we will steadily expand the opening up of the financial industry, and continue to promote the opening up of service industries such as transportation, trade and logistics, and professional services.
Open a window of opportunity for the world
Long Yongtu once publicly stated that for China's reform and opening up, China's "WTO" has two major breakthroughs.
The first is that by joining the WTO, we promised the world that China will engage in a market economy and emphasized that the market economy that China engages in is a socialist market economy.
Today, China's development path of "people-centered" has become a model of the socialist market economy in the world.
The second is our commitment to open the market to the world.
However, China's market opening must be carried out in accordance with China's development level, development stage, and affordability as a developing country.
Li Chunding stated that after China’s entry into the WTO, China has adhered to the positioning and policy of integrating into the world, fully aligning with international rules and practices, and expanding opening-up. China has continued to implement its opening-up commitments and expand market access. Its foreign trade development has achieved remarkable results and has attracted worldwide attention. Achievement.
Over the past 20 years, China’s economic aggregate has risen from sixth to second in the world, trade in goods has risen from sixth to first in the world, and trade in services has risen from eleventh to second in the world, and the use of foreign capital has maintained a steady development. China ranks first, with foreign direct investment rising from the 26th in the world to the first.
According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, China's use of foreign capital has increased from US$46.88 billion in 2001 to US$144.374 billion in 2020.
In the past 20 years, the world's total trade in goods has almost doubled, of which China's exports of goods have increased by more than 7 times, and China's total imports of goods have also increased by nearly 6 times.
China is the world's largest foreign capital inflow country, and its average annual contribution to global economic growth is close to 30%. It is an important engine for the recovery and growth of the world economy.
In the first half of 2021, my country's export and import international market shares reached 14.6% and 12%, respectively, setting new highs in the same period.
The structure is more optimized, the international market is more diversified, developing countries and emerging economies have become our main trading partners, and the main force of private enterprises has become more prominent.
"China's accession to the WTO has developed itself and benefited the world." Li Chenggang, China's permanent representative to the WTO, said in the media recently that in the past 20 years, the WTO has provided a stage for China and other countries to build a community of shared destiny with a high degree of integration of interests, and China has also contributed to the WTO. Development has played a constructive role.
Opening to the outside world forces domestic reforms
At the beginning of China's accession to the WTO, Chinese people were excited and nervous.
Because the world market has opened the door to our country, it has brought us more external demand.
But at the same time, foreign commodities will definitely impact our country's existing industrial system, causing some industries to shrink in competition.
At that time, the outside world generally believed that China's accession to the WTO would have a structural impact on my country's industries.
“After my country’s accession to the WTO, the market expansion effect is far greater than the industry competition effect. WTO dividends have exceeded almost everyone’s predictions.” Chen Bo, professor of the School of Economics at Huazhong University of Science and Technology and dean of Optics Valley Free Trade Research Institute, told China Business News. Before joining the WTO, the major industrial adjustment that was widely worried did not happen. Not only did my country enjoy WTO dividends in labor-intensive industries, but also gradually opened up the situation in the electrical and even electronic industries.
Chen Bo said that in the mid-1990s, in response to the challenges of WTO, my country began to implement the “shutdown, suspension, merger, and transfer” of state-owned enterprises in the manufacturing industry, greatly reducing the entry barriers of private enterprises, and creating Competitive manufacturing has laid a solid foundation for my country's success after joining the WTO in 2001.
After joining the WTO, China has drastically deepened reforms in accordance with its WTO commitments.
Wang Yuesheng, a professor at the School of Economics of Peking University, told China Business News that after joining the WTO, China has reformed many systems, norms and practices that are incompatible with WTO rules, abolished a large number of laws and regulations, documents and regulations, and greatly reduced tariffs. , Open up market access, especially the financial industry, service industry, and cultural industry markets that were strictly controlled in the past.
Over the past 20 years, China has adopted a series of new opening-up measures, such as expanding market access, implementing a negative list management model for foreign investment across the country as soon as possible, actively reducing import tariffs, actively expanding imports, accelerating the opening of the service industry, expanding the use of foreign capital, and accelerating exploration The reform process of the Pilot Free Trade Zone and the timely approval of Hainan’s exploration of the construction of a free trade port have enhanced my country’s opening-up level and generated positive international responses.
From 2001 to 2020, my country has established 21 national-level pilot free trade zones, including the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.
Since the establishment of the China Free Trade Zone, with institutional innovation as the core and the formation of reproducible and extendable institutional results as the focus, in-depth exploration and bold attempts have been made in investment, trade, financial affairs, post-event supervision, and legal construction. , Has promoted the transformation of government functions, the innovation of management models, the facilitation of investment and trade, and the internationalization of economic and trade rules.
Through piloting, summarizing, copying and promoting, the opening dividends and innovation dividends of the pilot free trade zone continue to roll over.
Along with the process of reform and opening up, my country's legislation in the field of foreign investment has also begun to advance simultaneously.
In 1979, the Second Session of the Fifth National People's Congress reviewed and approved the Sino-foreign joint venture enterprise law; in 1986, the Fourth Session of the Sixth National People's Congress reviewed and approved the Foreign-funded Enterprise Law; in 1988, the First Session of the Seventh National People's Congress reviewed and approved Sino-foreign cooperation Business enterprise law.
This is what people often call the "three methods of foreign investment."
On January 1, 2020, the "Foreign Investment Law" was officially implemented.
This is a basic law to promote high-level opening to the outside world in the new era, and to promote a new round of high-level opening up with high-quality legislation is a major measure to promote the formation of a new pattern of comprehensive opening up and promote the healthy development of the socialist market economy, highlighting China Unswervingly expand the determination to open up to the outside world.
In interviews by the media, some multinational companies and international organizations stated that the formulation and implementation of the Foreign Investment Law has opened up a broader space for foreign investment in China, allowing foreign companies and foreign companies to have more confidence in the Chinese market, and to invest in China with more confidence and entrepreneurship. Peace of mind, development more smoothly.
The pace of opening up will not stop
In the 20 years since China joined the WTO, the development and changes of the world and China have been intertwined and turbulent at the same time.
Looking to the future, China will not stop its efforts to promote a higher level of openness, its efforts to build an open world economy, and its efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Zhang Yuejiao, a judge and former chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, and dean of the Institute for International Dispute Resolution of Tsinghua University, said that China has achieved fruitful results in the first 20 years of its accession to the WTO, and it will do better in the second 20 years.
In the two cycles of international and domestic economic governance, China will first develop its economy well, continue to reform and open up, especially improve the socialist market economy, give play to the role of enterprises in fair competition in international trade, expand the production chain, and make up for shortcomings. Increase efficiency and improve people's living standards.
Zhang Yuejiao said that in terms of foreign trade and economic cooperation, China will continue to actively participate in WTO reforms, actively participate in the negotiation and accession of regional free trade agreements, successfully run the “Belt and Road” projects with high quality, promote the healthy development of international trade and investment facilitation, and maintain the WTO’s role. The core international multilateral system plays a greater role in promoting international economic governance and promoting the development of international trade.
Wang Yuesheng believes that on the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the WTO, China is facing the challenge of further deepening reforms and the urgent need to further deepen opening up.
The current world economic situation and international economic and trade pattern have changed drastically compared with the early days of China's accession to the WTO.
This change mainly comes from the anti-globalization trend that emerged after the global financial crisis, isolationism and protectionist policies, the fragmentation and regionalization of the multilateral trading system, as well as the defects and disputes in the WTO mechanism and the multilateral trading system itself.
At present, the WTO must keep pace with the times, and reform is imperative.
Li Chunding said that China should actively participate in WTO reforms, actively maintain its position in the multilateral trading system in WTO reforms, and create a stable and predictable competitive environment for international trade.
Li Chunding believes that first, we must give full play to the functions of participants in global economic governance.
Actively and fully participate in WTO negotiations in various fields, and in the future, we will realize a major change from rule follower and receiver to co-setter and defender, and represent the position and interests of China's high-quality economic development in the future.
Second, we must deeply participate in the improvement of the dispute settlement mechanism.
A certain degree of trade imbalance is the norm, and it is the best way to resolve problems through consultations and negotiations when problems arise.
Third, we must actively develop relevant WTO rules.
At present, the WTO has started from tariff negotiations to non-tariff opening, extending from trade in goods to trade in services, and developing from traditional trade to digital trade.
Therefore, some important rules need to be continuously developed and expanded to new areas during the development, such as the specific implementation of intellectual property protection issues in international trade rules.
On November 15, 2020, my country formally signed the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP), and this year it formally applied to join the "Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement" (CPTPP), reflecting my country's determination to promote high-level openness And confidence.
Long Yongtu said that the experience of “entering the WTO” 20 years ago taught us that Chinese people are not afraid of competition.
The Chinese sincerely promote the development of the global multilateral system and apply to join the CPTPP, demonstrating China's high-level determination to open up to the outside world, allowing the world to better witness China's roads, Chinese minds, Chinese wisdom, and Chinese solutions.
Author: Zhu Yanran