The first financial reporter learned from authoritative channels that from October 23 to 24, the World Trade Organization (WTO) will hold a meeting of senior government officials of its members in Geneva to accumulate strength for the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) to be held in February 2024.
Senior government officials from all WTO members will travel to Geneva to provide the necessary political impetus to help resolve specific issues to advance the work of MC13.
At present, the WTO schedule has also marked the meeting of high-level officials on July 23 and 24. On the 10th, WTO Director-General Iweala stressed that the senior officials meeting "will be aimed at ensuring full participation, inclusiveness and transparency."
According to the Ministry of Commerce, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Iweala in Tianjin on June 27. Wang Wentao said that China firmly supports the multilateral trading system and is willing to work with all parties to strive for pragmatic outcomes of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference. China will fully and deeply participate in the WTO reform negotiations and work for the WTO to play a better role in global economic governance.
The WTO holds a meeting of senior officials
According to the first financial reporter, after the end of the recent summer break, the WTO committees are holding intensive meetings to negotiate on fishery negotiations, intellectual property issues, agricultural negotiations and other issues, and make efforts to reach a consensus on MC13 next year.
In February 2024, MC13 will be held in ABU Dhabi. The WTO Ministerial Conference is the world's most important annual meeting of trade ministers, where far-reaching global trade agreements are discussed and consensus sought.
At present, the issues requiring attention at MC13 include: WTO reform, in particular reform of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, which is a key priority for many members; Ensure the entry into force of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement and conclude the second round of negotiations on fisheries subsidies; Moving forward on agricultural negotiations, with little progress being made in the current debate in Geneva; Implement the development agenda and maintain the confidence and trust of developing countries in the Organization.
Earlier, Wang Wentao stressed that China will participate in the second phase of negotiations on the fishery subsidy Agreement with a positive and constructive attitude and support the smooth transition of the least developed countries. As the largest developing country in the world, China will adhere to the principle of balancing rights and obligations, handle special and differential treatment independently and pragmatically, and undertake obligations commensurate with its level of economic development and capabilities.
At the G20 meeting of trade and Investment ministers in Jaipur, India, on August 24, Iweala argued that a new approach to global trade is needed that brings more places and people from the margins into the mainstream of supply networks. This "re-globalization" process, underpinned by an open, free, and fair multilateral trading system, will enable countries that have traditionally been outside trade to seize emerging opportunities while deepening and diversifying global supply chains.
"Our global family may be divided, but it shares common goals: prosperity, resilience, inclusion and sustainability. But allowing an open, rules-based global economy to erode will make it harder, if not impossible, to achieve these goals."
On the 10th, Iweala explained the upcoming meeting of senior government officials. She said the agenda was drawn up in response to calls from members for an agenda focused on specific requests from senior officials.
She also said the agenda would be realistic in key areas that all sides agree require high-level political input, while also taking into account the interests of members.
Conclude all kinds of negotiations as soon as possible
The first financial reporter learned that the high-level government meeting covered the main content to be discussed at MC13 in the future. The meeting will take the form of breakout sessions.
On Tuesday, officials will discuss agriculture (including food security), reform of the dispute settlement mechanism and a second round of negotiations on fisheries subsidies.
The discussions on the dispute settlement reform and the second round of negotiations on fisheries subsidies aim to reaffirm political support and strong commitment to continue technical discussions and negotiations so that the parties can conclude them as soon as possible.
Each senior official will be assigned to one of three groups to facilitate communication. The grouping will be designed to be balanced and representative according to regions, perspectives and interests. On the same day, senior officials will also have a two-hour break to self-organize bilateral or group meetings and/or self-organize meetings with the chairs of WTO bodies.
During the two-hour plenary session on the 24th, the areas to be discussed were the overall reform of the WTO (including the holding of the Ministerial Conference), the work plan for e-commerce, and the decision of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Declaration adopted at MC12 in June 2022.
This will be followed by consideration of two key themes - trade and environmental sustainability and trade and industrial policy. Each topic will be discussed for two hours.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, on September 25, the opening class of WTO Rules in Trade and Environment was held at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, and Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei attended and delivered a speech.
Li Fei said that China has always been a firm believer in multilateralism and a firm defender of the WTO. In the face of new opportunities and challenges in the field of trade and environment, China advocates and practices genuine multilateralism, proposes and practices initiatives such as "plastic pollution prevention and control", actively echoes the aspirations of developing members, and will continue to promote the WTO to play a better role as the main channel in reshaping global green economic and trade rules.
Li Fei stressed that at present, the formulation of trade rules related to environment and climate change has become an important agenda of the WTO. As the largest developing country, China has taken an active part in WTO negotiations and discussions on trade and environment issues and promoted international consensus.