Chinese commerce minister: Confidence, patience required in WTO work

Work at the World Trade Organization (WTO) requires both confidence and patience, Wang Wentao, China's minister of commerce, said at the press conference on the economy for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing on Wednesday.

Wang attended the WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) that took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last week. He recalled that the "1+10" pragmatic outcomes were reached at the conference.

"Most of the members were convinced that this is another major victory for multilateralism," Wang said, answering questions from CGTN. "These outcomes were a boost to the world's confidence in multilateral trading system."

The significance of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFD Agreement) reached at the conference was wrapped up by Wang in three "firsts." It was the world's first multilateral investment agreement, the first agreement whose core is development, and the first agreement that was reached in discussions over investment rules led by developing members.

"China played a key guiding role in the discussions for the IFD Agreement," Wang said. "A total of 127 members have joined the agreement. That number is bigger than three-quarters of the WTO members and continues to grow."

He said the MC13 also saw the entry into force of new disciplines on services domestic regulation. "It was the first multilateral service trade agreement reached since the WTO was founded," Wang said. "It was supported by 72 WTO members and covered over 90 percent of the global service trades. According to calculations by relevant international agencies, by entering into force, the new disciplines will save about $127 billion of cost for global enterprises in participating in international service trades."

Initially scheduled to end on February 29, the conference was extended by another two days due to negotiation challenges.

Acknowledging the challenges,  Wang said, "It is indeed difficult for over 160 WTO members to reach an agreement. So, we must stay both confident and patient."

He said, "As one of the organization's core members and the largest developing member, China is willing to join hands with other members to implement the achievements and agreements reached at MC13 and safeguard the legitimate interests of all developing members."

(Cover photo: Wang Wentao, China's minister of commerce, attends the press conference on the economy for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, March 6, 2024. /Xinhua)