China, WTO oppose anti-globalization, pursue mutual benefits

World
Europe

01:44

In a white paper released on Thursday, titled “China and the World Trade Organization”, China reiterated that it will pursue a trade strategy of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and it will continue to open up in “a more comprehensive, more profound and diversified way”.

It is the first official document released by China which outlines the country’s achievements since joining the World Trade Organization in 2001. It notes that China is the World’s second largest importer and has contributed significantly to global economic growth.

The US claimed that China has been profiting unilaterally from trade with the US, and has recently imposed high tariffs on Chinese imports on the grounds of China’s violation of intellectual property rights.

William Spiers, UK’s specialist at Spearhead China Ltd, pointed out that China has given its strong support to the WTO and has played a vital role in global economic governance. He also added that the world is now seeing a surge of anti-globalization coupled with rising unilateralism and protectionism, which poses significant challenges to the core principles of WTO.

01:08

“America and China have very different internal systems."

“WTO has become the catalyst for China to develop so quickly.”

“Now with China lowering tariffs with many other countries, it shows that China is wishing to develop free trade.”

“The problem is, America has been reaping the benefits of using China as a manufacturing base for so many years, now it sees it as a challenge to its internal way of own well-being. America is mixing politics with economics.”

When asked to comment on whether China has fulfilled its commitments to the WTO, Tu Xingquan, dean of China Institute for WTO Studies, reaffirmed that China has been adhering to the fundamental national policy of reform and opening-up, stressing that China will continue to pursue its development with its door wide open despite foreign pressure and concerns.

“The US and many developed countries think China has been developing so fast, but China’s opening-up is in fact a slower process than expected.”

“We understand such concerns from foreign countries and to some extent, foreign pressure can be used as a stimulus to catalyze China’s opening-up process.”

“But we do not accept unilateral sanctions or punishments.”

01:40

Andy Mok, the founder of Red Pagoda Resources, discussed further the need for action to be considered in pushing forward economic trade with global partners.

“There is still room for improvement both in terms of the structure as well as the actual security issue. The other area for improvement would be the linkage to the market outside of China. “

“When there is free flow of capital across borders, we need greater efficiency, less arbitrage and better pricing to enhance the economic value of trade.

“The Chinese regulatory agencies need to in parallel develop the policies, the regulations, the training of staff so that they are not holding back the healthy market developments of the financial sector.”

Dialogue with Yang Rui is a 30-minute current affairs talk show on CGTN. It airs daily at 7:30 p.m. BJT (1130GMT), with rebroadcasts at 3:30 a.m. (1930GMT) and 11:30 a.m. (0330GMT).