China is a model of integrating into global trade and promoting development
From Geneva (Reporter Yang Haiquan) "China's accession to the World Trade Organization is an important event in the history of the multilateral trading system. Integration into the global trading system can promote economic growth and development, and China can be regarded as a textbook model in this regard. In the past 20 years, China’s economic rise has lifted millions of people out of poverty. The structural transformation triggered by the reforms related to WTO accession has contributed to the booming growth and modernization of China’s economy. For the WTO, welcoming China’s entry is a step towards becoming a truly world organization This is an important step. For other WTO members, China’s accession enables them to establish a more predictable and mutually beneficial trade relationship with a large-scale and fast-growing economy." At the high-level forum jointly organized by the WTO delegation on December 10, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonyo-Ibeala said so.
The theme of the forum is "20 Years of China's Accession to the WTO: Integration and Development".
Ngozi Okonyo-Ibeala pointed out that “some WTO members believe that China can make more contributions to the reform of the WTO in the ongoing negotiations, in the field of fair competition and the restoration of its dispute settlement function.”
Li Chenggang, China’s permanent representative to the WTO, said: “After joining the WTO, China has substantially opened up its markets for goods and services. The average current tariff rate for manufactured goods has dropped from 14.8% to the current 7.4%, which is lower than its WTO commitments. In terms of service trade, China has opened nearly 120 industries, 20 more than the agreements reached when it entered the WTO. Reform and opening up are the fundamental driving force for China’s development. In the past 20 years, China has grown from the sixth largest economy in the world to The second largest economy, its GDP has increased by 11 times, reaching nearly 15 trillion U.S. dollars."
Li Chenggang pointed out that in recent years, the WTO has faced global and internal challenges.
China will continue to be a staunch supporter of the multilateral trading system.
He expressed the hope that the upcoming Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference will achieve meaningful results in some key areas, such as fishery subsidies and response to the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
Pascal Lamy, the former Director-General of the World Trade Organization and the European Union Trade Commissioner when China joined the WTO, pointed out that China's accession is a "decisive moment" for the WTO and the multilateral trading system.
China's fulfillment of its commitments and participation in the WTO in the past 20 years is worthy of recognition, and China can do more in the future.
Yang Haiquan
Yang Haiquan