China has released a white paper on its relationship with the World Trade Organization. The document underscores the country's achievements, contributions and commitments since it joined the organization back in 2001. Wang Qiwei has more.

A milestone for Beijing's reform and opening up program, as it looked to integrate into the global economy. China joined the WTO in 2001, embracing the world with open arms. The white paper gives a full account of the country's achievements since then.

WANG SHOUWEN VICE MINISTER OF COMMERCE "The country's WTO entry 17 years ago set off continuous improvement in the living standards of the Chinese people, rapid economic growth, and more importantly, the accelerated integration of the commercial interests of China and the rest of the world."

The paper outlined that China has regularly been a significant contributor to global economic growth. When it joined the WTO, it was importing goods worth about a quarter of a trillion dollars annually. Last year, that figure jumped to nearly two trillion. China has also been a magnet for foreign direct investment. In the same period, it increased from nearly 50 billion dollars to more than 130 billion dollars, However, the government holds that China is now in a position to push for much more.

WANG SHOUWEN VICE MINISTER OF COMMERCE "We should insist on equal participation, and transparent and open discussions. We must respect the will of the majority of the members, in particular, focus on the concerns of the developing countries. China will continue to seek to improve multilateral trade rules, keep pace with the times and reform the multilateral trading system with other members of the WTO. China will firmly support the rules-based multilateral trading system, and promote economic globalization towards an open, inclusive, balanced and win-win direction."

The white paper argues that protectionism and unilateralism are posing severe challenges to the global multilateral trading system.

It calls on all countries to share the burdens of globalization, and said China is looking forward to future opportunities for cooperation. WQW,CGTN.