The Ninth World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Policy Review of China was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 17 to 19 local time.
As reported by Xinhua, China responded fully and positively to the concerns of WTO members about China ' s economic and trade policy during the Review Conference and refuted false accusations.
China has reason to believe that, in the future, China will have new and greater opportunities to deepen its reforms, expand its openness and promote high-quality development.
Accusation of false accusations.
Trade policy deliberations are a central function of WTO in enhancing trade policy transparency among its members and in maintaining a smooth functioning of the multilateral trading system, as well as an important platform for WTO members to enhance understanding, frank communication and dispel misunderstandings.
This is the ninth WTO Trade Policy Review of China, where WTO members collectively review China ' s economic and trade policy since October 2021.
Earlier, during the regular press launch, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, Ho Wing, stated that China had always attached great importance to trade policy deliberations since joining WTO. China has responded carefully and positively to the deliberations and has taken practical action to firmly safeguard the multilateral trading system, with WTO at its core, whose members generally acknowledge China ' s economic development achievements and economic and trade policies.
Xinhua reports that China has responded to members ' concerns with openness and openness. China has elaborated its policy objectives, specific operations, implementation effectiveness and future directions on issues such as industrial policy, subsidies, State-owned enterprises, intellectual property protection, cybersecurity and data flows, government procurement, building a single national market, export controls, standard-setting, quarantine measures and transparency. China further stated its position on expanding market access for least developed country members, maintaining the status of developing countries and addressing SDT in a pragmatic and flexible manner.
Individual members accused China of “overcapacity” and of “economic coercion”, and China strongly repudiates false accusations. China emphasizes that its subsidy policy is in line with the WTO rules and that the success of Chinese enterprises stems from market competition rather than government subsidies. China ' s new energy products have made a positive contribution to the global green, low-carbon transformation and to combating climate change. Globally, the supply of new energy products is far from meeting demand and there is no “overcapacity”. The so-called “economic coercion” is not China's trade policy, past, present and future. The real source of economic coercion is the tendency of individual members to apply “long-arms jurisdiction” and to set up various control lists and impose unilateral sanctions on individual businesses of other members.
According to the first financial journalist, China had received 1,571 written questions from 44 members prior to the meeting and had provided replies to all the questions on time, as required by the rules.
Members ' representatives highly value China ' s contribution to global economic growth
At that meeting, representatives of WTO members were informed that they valued China ' s positive contribution to global economic growth and to the maintenance of the multilateral trading system, and appreciated China ' s policy initiatives to deepen domestic reforms and further expand openness.
The developing members highly appreciated China ' s practical support, particularly for the least developed countries ' accelerated development and further integration into the multilateral trading system.
Members ' representatives highly acknowledged China ' s continued promotion of market-based reforms, as well as the green transformation of the economy, including through enhanced technological innovation, and its outstanding contribution to global low-carbon green development and climate change.
The representative of member States said that China was an important and responsible member of WTO and had made a significant contribution in advancing investment facilitation, negotiations on e-commerce, domestic regulation of trade in services, plastic pollution control and fisheries subsidies, and in supporting the reform of the dispute settlement mechanism and promoting the resumption of the functioning of the Appellate Body.
Among them, according to the first financial journalist, Brazil stated in its statement that, in 2024, Brazil would celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its engagement with China and that the two sides would build strategic partnerships in WTO, the BRICS countries and the Group of Twenty (G20). Despite global challenges, bilateral relations between the two countries remain mature and stable, with agriculture at the core. Brazil is the main supplier of Chinese agricultural products, especially soybeans, maize and meat. Since 2021, the parties have strengthened their SPS negotiations and facilitated trade. Brazil also encouraged China to provide WTO with more detailed information on its industrial and agricultural support programmes.
On behalf of the African Group, Chad commended China for its commitment to the multilateral trading system and its efforts to create favourable conditions for development and the dynamics of international trade. Chad also commended China for lowering tariff rates and simplifying customs procedures, recognized its role as a major trading partner in Africa, and noted the significant growth in bilateral trade. Chad also commended China for its green transformation efforts and called for enhanced trade cooperation.
On behalf of ASEAN, Laos stressed the need to strengthen the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, with a focus on the digital economy, the green economy and MSMEs. It expressed its appreciation to China for strengthening connectivity and cooperation through various initiatives and looked forward to future cooperation under a comprehensive regional economic partnership.
In his concluding remarks to the Review Conference, Ambassador Abdelhamid, the Chairman of the Trade Policy Review Body, acknowledged the remarkable growth of China ' s economy and its role as a driving force of the global economy.
Abdulhamid said that members had shown great interest in China ' s business environment, particularly in terms of foreign participation, and welcomed China ' s efforts to attract foreign investment further. “Most of them particularly commended China for its continued liberalization efforts and for further allowing foreign firms to invest in important areas such as manufacturing (policies).”
He expressed the view that one of the common themes of the statements made by members was the important role of China in WTO, and he strongly expected that China would further strengthen its constructive engagement. Members expressed their appreciation for China ' s contribution to the efforts of the WTO, in particular its active participation in various initiatives such as the joint statement initiative and the ongoing negotiations on the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement.
He explained that members had also endorsed China ' s participation in the WTO dispute resolution reform discussions and in the Multi-Party Interim Appeals Mechanism (MPIA).
A total of 71 WTO members are known to have made live statements during this review.