China marks 18 years of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday. Since 2001, the country has seen huge achievements. In 2010, China became the world's second largest economy and last year, China contributed about 30 percent of the world's GDP. Beijing's participation in the WTO has also brought a surging increase in the service sector across all industries, as well as international travelers. The anniversary follows the Chinese Foreign Ministry's condemnation of the U.S. for obstructing the appointment of WTO appellate judges.