Twenty years after China’s entry into the WTO, China and the world have been "a typical win-win situation"

CCTV News

(Reporter Xu Yeqing): At 18:39 on November 10, 2001, local time, the gavel at the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Doha, Qatar, was finalized and China was approved to join the WTO.

On December 11 of the same year, China formally joined the WTO and became its 143rd member.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the WTO. Looking back at a new historical starting point, it is not difficult to find that the achievements brought by China's WTO accession are of great milestone significance.

rule

　　The difficulty of China's WTO accession negotiations is extremely rare in the history of world negotiations.

Since the formal submission of the customs reinstatement application on July 10, 1986, there have been 15 springs and autumns.

Throughout the negotiation process, the Chinese delegation changed four heads, the United States changed five chief negotiators, and the European Union also changed four.

　　The negotiation is so difficult, why does China still want to join the WTO?

Researcher at the National Development and Strategy Research Institute of Renmin University of China and professor at the School of Economics, Leida said that China’s accession to the WTO is equivalent to integrating into the international community, and because the WTO has many rules, “Once it joins it, countries that have trade relations with us will also be affected. This rule restricts, thus can reduce our foreign trade cost." In addition, China can

carry out international trade with countries in the world under

a

.

If disputes or disputes occur in the course of trade, "then we will resolve them according to the rules, not unprincipled." Such a certain environment prevents China from being "unreasonably obstructed" by some developed country members.

　　Opening up brings competition, and regular competition activates the market.

"If we did not join the WTO, we would just play basketball with ourselves. Although we are also exercising, there will be less international exchanges. After joining, there will be a common rule for competing with others, and at the same time, it will promote the exchange of advanced technologies between the two sides. ."

open

　　After joining the WTO, China welcomes more high-quality international goods and services into the Chinese market with a more open attitude.

Radar stated that the difference between the “opening up” in 1978 and 2001 is that if the former opened the door to the country, then in 2001 it was further integrated into the world economic system.

　　In the 20 years since China’s entry into the WTO, China’s average annual contribution to global economic growth has been close to 30%, and the overall tariff level has dropped from 15.3% to 7.4%, which is far lower than the 10% promised by the WTO and even lower than other major emerging economies. ; The number of foreign-funded enterprises established in China has increased from 200,000 to more than one million; the global ranking of the annual flow of foreign direct investment has risen from the 26th at the beginning of the WTO accession to the 2nd in 2019... At present, China has developed into the world The second largest economy, the largest goods trading country, and the largest foreign investment absorption country.

　　"Since the reform and opening up, our companies have been exporting, but they are all labor-intensive products. After joining the WTO, the most obvious thing is that the product structure has undergone a fundamental change." According to Radar, China’s high-tech exports currently account for One third of the total exports, and in 2001, this value was only 5%.

　　These great changes are undoubtedly brought about by openness. "If we do not join the WTO, it will be difficult for us to achieve such results."

Fulfill promise

　　On October 28 this year, Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy Representative of International Trade Negotiations, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that China has fully fulfilled its commitments made when it entered the WTO. Several WTO Director-Generals and most of the WTO Members fully affirmed and universally recognized this.

　　What does it mean to "fully fulfill the promise"?

Radar answers the meaning of three levels.

　　First of all, this means that foreign trade is not only opening to the outside world at the operational level, but also the process of integration with the world at the institutional level; secondly, this “completeness” just shows that China’s negotiations at that time were successful, and it was “nothing”. "It's a loss", and the result of the negotiation is in line with Chinese characteristics and China's model; in the end, it also proves that China has not only enjoyed rights since its accession to the WTO, but also assumed corresponding responsibilities and obligations.

　　"Today's fulfillment of its promises means that China has won more voice for itself in the process of WTO rulemaking and reform in the future."

Win-win

　　The rapid domestic economic growth, the significant improvement in people's living standards, and the greatly improved sense of happiness and sense of achievement all reflect that China, as a developing country, has achieved great success after joining the WTO.

But at the same time, such a "China model" has had an impact on the world that cannot be underestimated. Many experts and officials, including former WTO Director-General Lamy, have given high marks to China's "WTO" answer sheet.

　　"China has become the world's largest trading country, and in fact it has contributed a lot to the consumer market of developed countries." Radar emphasized that if there is no such a large trading country in the WTO, it is difficult to imagine developing countries in the new century. And developed countries can experience a wave of rapid economic growth together.

　　However, some countries still believe that after China joined the WTO, they only enjoyed the benefits they provided, failed to fulfill the WTO commitments at the time, and did not recognize that China and the world had achieved a "win-win".

Radar said that the development of globalization has caused difficulties in the WTO system itself. This is not the impact of China's accession; in addition, as the number of countries joining the WTO increases, it is also difficult to reach a consensus on something. Constantly improving, "so this influence cannot rest on China."

　　World Bank data show that China's GDP has grown rapidly after its accession to the WTO. At the same time, the GDP of developed countries including the United States and Europe has also shown a growing trend.

In addition, China has also driven the growth of a number of emerging economies.

"How can you not recognize a win-win situation? This is the most typical win-win situation," said Leida.