Government white paper highlights on trade and multilateralism

A new whitepaper titled ‘China and the World Trade Organization’ released by China's State Council Information Office on Thursday.

The 22-page document details China's fulfillment of its WTO commitments, explains China's principles, stances, policies, and proposition regarding the multilateral trading system, and describes China's vision and actions in advancing higher-level reform and opening-up.

China acceded to the WTO in 2001. The document noted that this was a milestone in China's integration into economic globalization, marking a new historic stage of reform and opening-up. Since its accession to the WTO, China has been a strong advocate for free trade.

The documents provide a large number of evidence and data to show what China has done to substantively reduce import tariff, liberalize the right to trade, fulfill commitments on trade in services, the protection of intellectual property rights and transparency.

By 2010, China had fulfilled all of its tariff reduction commitments, according to the paper.

“China firmly observes and upholds the WTO rules, and supports the multilateral trading system that is open, transparent, inclusive and non-discriminatory”, it said, adding that China is an active participant, strong supporter and major contributor in the multilateral trading system.

“Opening-up was key to China’s economic growth over the past 40 years”, the paper stressed that at the historic starting point of a new era, China’s door of opening-up will not be closed and will only open even wider.