Expert says impasse on WTO must be broken

China will suffer substantially if the global multilateral trade negotiation mechanism collapses, a senior official of the World Trade Organization said recently.

Global trade negotiations have stalled after India's recent veto on the Bali deal, an agreement struck on the Indonesian island last December that would have been a historic achievement in the WTO's almost two-decade history.

WTO Deputy Director-General Yi Xiaozhun said it was imperative to start the post-Bali negotiations as early as possible so that WTO can ensure that the global trade facilitation agreement would be successfully implemented, without compromising the interests and agenda of each member state.