China and the World Trade Organization

II. China Firmly Supports the Multilateral Trading System

The multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core is the cornerstone of international trade, and has been playing a pivotal role in promoting global trade and building an open world economy. Since its accession to the WTO, China has firmly supported the multilateral trading system, participated in all aspects of WTO work. It called upon the WTO to focus more on the concerns of developing members, opposed unilateralism and protectionism, upheld the authority and efficacy of the multilateral trading system, and made concerted efforts with other members in supporting the WTO to play a greater role in economic globalization.

1. Liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment

Participating fully in the Doha Round negotiations. China has submitted or co-sponsored more than 100 negotiation proposals, helped secure agreement on trade facilitation and export competition in agricultural products, and promoted the continuous improvement of the multilateral trading system. In 2015, China became the 16th WTO member to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). During its G20 presidency in 2016, China encouraged a number of countries to complete their domestic ratification procedures of the TFA, prompting the agreement's entry into effect at an early date.

Promoting plurilateral trade liberalization. As a developing country, China has actively participated in plurilateral liberalization initiatives and made important contributions to relevant talks. It accepted the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) upon accession, subsequently participated in the negotiations to expand its coverage, and encouraged relevant parties to reach agreement on eliminating tariffs of 201 information technology products. As one of the initiators of the negotiations on the Environment Goods Agreement, China always participated in relevant discussions in a constructive manner, and contributed to the important consensus reached at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. In 2007, China started the negotiation on its accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement and has been making great efforts ever since.

Mobilizing support for discussing new issues in the WTO. China has encouraged the WTO to respond to and discuss new topics of general interest to the members such as investment facilitation, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and e-commerce. China initiated "Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development (FIFD)" and sponsored the Joint Ministerial Statement on Investment Facilitation for Development signed by over 70 members. China joined the "Friends of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises", and shared with other members its proposals that support MSMEs. As an advocate of multilateral discussions on e-commerce in the WTO, China joined "Friends of E-commerce for Development (FED)", shared its experiences and helped other developing members benefit from e-commerce.

Faithfully implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement. As a developing member, China has actively promoted the implementation of TFA. It has set up the National Committee on Trade Facilitation to coordinate the efforts of relevant government agencies to enhance trade facilitation. By 2017, China's provinces (as well as autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) had all established a joint committee mechanism for trade facilitation in their respective jurisdictions. Regarding China's TFA commitments, 94.5 percent of all commitments fall into Category A (immediately implemented upon entry into force of the TFA), and only four items belong to Category B (implemented after a transitional period following the TFA's entry into force). China will honor its promise and implement all the Category B measures following a transitional period of three years after entry into force of the Agreement.

2. Safeguarding the dispute settlement mechanism

Safeguarding the effective operation of the dispute settlement mechanism. The WTO dispute settlement mechanism has played a vital role in maintaining the predictability of international trade and the stability of the multilateral trading system. China has actively participated in the negotiations on improving the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes and supports the independence and impartiality of the WTO Appellate Body. Despite the attempt of certain WTO member to obstruct the appointment of members of the Appellate Body, China joined more than 60 members in submitting a proposal on starting the selection process at the earliest possible date.

Properly handling trade disputes with other WTO members. China supports WTO members to solve their trade disputes within the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. By April 2018, China had brought 17 disputes to the WTO, of which 8 had been concluded. Meanwhile, China had been complained against in 27 disputes, of which 23 had been concluded. By lodging complaints in the WTO, China redressed other members' violation of obligations under the covered agreements, and defended its own trade interests as well as the authority of WTO rules. China also actively defended the cases against it, respected the WTO rulings, and made adjustments to its measures according to WTO rules. Up to now, none of the complainants has requested for retaliation against China.