China News Service, November 3, according to Bloomberg News reported on the 2nd that WTO members will hold a general council meeting on the selection of the director general on November 9 and hope to make a decision on the final candidate for the director general by then.

However, due to the sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases of the new crown in Geneva, Switzerland, the local WTO may postpone the relevant selection work for at least one month.

  In August, Azevedo, the former Director-General of the WTO, left his post.

The selection process for the new director-general started as early as June.

On October 28, the WTO stated that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a candidate from Nigeria, became the final candidate.

If eventually appointed, Oconjo Iweala will become the first woman and the first African Director-General in the 25 years since the establishment of the WTO.

Data map: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, candidate for the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

  However, Bloomberg pointed out that due to the epidemic, the Geneva authorities announced new lockdown measures. From November 2 to 29, the local area will ban public and private activities of more than five people.

At present, the number of new crown infection cases and hospitalizations in Geneva is soaring.

This may have a negative impact on the selection of the new Director-General of the WTO.

  Some face-to-face meetings may be converted to video conferences. In addition, senior WTO officials are discussing whether to postpone the plan to hold the General Council meeting on November 9.

  According to reports, WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.

  In addition to the epidemic, the selection of the new WTO Director-General is also facing obstacles from the United States.

The US has previously stated that it does not support Okonjo-Iweara, but supports another candidate from South Korea, Yu Mingxi.

The report pointed out that this intention of the United States makes the final selection result full of uncertainty.