China se une a la WTO

“International economic cooperation has brought about this defining moment in the history of the multilateral trading system,” said Mike Moore, WTO Director-General, at the conclusion of the meeting of the Working Party on China's Accession. “With China's membership, the WTO will take a major step towards becoming a truly world organization. The near-universal acceptance of its rules-based system will serve a pivotal rôle in underpinning global economic cooperation.”

Under the chairmanship of Ambassador Pierre-Louis Girard of Switzerland, the Working Party concluded almost 15 years of negotiations with China and agreed to forward some 900 pages of legal text for formal acceptance by the 142 Member Governments of the WTO. Thirty days after China notifies its acceptance of the agreement, China legally becomes a member of the WTO.

As a result of the negotiations, China has agreed to undertake a series of important commitments to open and liberalize its regime in order to better integrate in the world economy and offer a more predictable environment for trade and foreign investment in accordance with WTO rules.

Among some of the commitments undertaken by China are the following:

China will provide non-discriminatory treatment to all WTO Members. All foreign individuals and enterprises, including those not invested or registered in China, will be accorded treatment no less favourable than that accorded to enterprises in China with respect to the right to trade.

WTO successfully concludes negotiations on China's entry

The World Trade Organization today (17 September) successfully concluded negotiations on China's terms of membership of the WTO, paving the way for the text of the agreement to be adopted formally at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November.

China will eliminate dual pricing practices as well as differences in treatment accorded to goods produced for sale in China in comparison to those produced for export.

price controls will not be used for purposes of affording protection to domestic industries or services providers.

the WTO Agreement will be implemented by China in an effective and uniform manner by revising its existing domestic laws and enacting new legislation fully in compliance with the WTO Agreement.

Within three years of accession all enterprises will have the right to import and export all goods and trade them throughout the customs territory with limited exceptions.

China will not maintain or introduce any export subsidies on agricultural products.

While China will reserve the right of exclusive state trading for products such as cereals, tobacco, fuels and minerals and maintain some restrictions on transportation and distribution of goods inside the country, many of the restrictions that foreign companies have at present in China will be eliminated or considerably eased after a 3-year phase-out period. In other areas, like the protection of intellectual property rights, China will implement the TRIPS (Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement in full from the date of accession.

During a 12-year period starting from the date of accession there will be a special Transitional Safeguard Mechanism in cases where imports of products of Chinese origin cause or threaten to cause market disruption to the domestic producers of other WTO members.

On the other hand, prohibitions, quantitative restrictions or other measures maintained against imports from China in a manner inconsistent with the WTO Agreement would be phased out or otherwise dealt with in accordance with mutually agreed terms and timetables specified in an annex to the Protocol of Accession.