| Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 17, 2001 |
Supachai: China Well-posed to Play Pivotal Role in WTO's Future |
|
With strong determinations to fully integrate with the world and a fast-growing economic might, China is well-posed to play a pivotal role in the future direction of the World Trade Organization (WTO), WTO's director-general designate Supachai Panichpakdi said Saturday.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
With strong determinations to fully integrate with the world and a fast-growing economic might, China is well-posed to play a pivotal role in the future direction of the World Trade Organization (WTO), WTO's director-general designate Supachai Panichpakdi said Saturday.
"China joined WTO at a critical moment when members of the organization finally decided to launch a new round of global trade talks, and China's weight in this new round will fine-tune WTO's future," Supachai said soon after his returning from WTO's Doha Meeting.
The former Thai deputy premier, also a renowned economist, is expected to take the helm of WTO later next year.
China's entry "reassuring""Despite the harsh reality of growing doubts on trade liberalization and rising protectionist trends, I feel quite reassured that the world's fastest-developing economy determines to live up to the WTO expectations," he noted.
Supachai said he was much impressed by the clear vision of the Chinese leadership and public on the importance of the multilateral trading system during China's overly long-winding process to join WTO.
After 15 year's persistent efforts, China was confirmed as a member at the 4th WTO Ministerial Meeting in Doha, Qatar, on November 10, and will formally become a full member at the end of the year.
However, the future leader of WTO pointed out that China should have been a founding member of the organization in 1995 had the current entry process not been raised into "a excessive level which might be too burdensome for developing countries like China."
"Therefore it is quite encouraging to see the Doha Declaration indicating that the WTO will shorten accession proceedings as quickly as possible for 28 countries now negotiating their entry,"he said.
"In this light, experiences gained from China's entry could also be analyzed for the benefit of streamlining the process in the future," Supachai said.
Developing world stands to gain As a WTO head from the developing world, he said he was glad to see that with China's huge presence, the new round of talks will be better steered into the direction of re-balancing benefits in favor of developing nations.
The 9th round of WTO talks, which is agreed to be launched at the recent Doha meeting, will include areas of trade gains for developing countries, e.g., further liberalization of farm trade, more market access for labor-intensive industrial products, elimination of government subsidies and a review of anti-dumping measures.
"China's entry will also add more weight for developing countries to prevent some developed members from hooking social issues with trade topics," he noted.
Touching upon the worries that China's WTO membership could intensify trade competition, Supachai said, "China's expanding global market share after WTO entry does not mean other trading nations should be at the losing end."
"Those countries which produce capital goods, petrochemical products and electronic components should stand to benefit from rising demands as China expand her domestic productions," he said.
For instance, he said Japan and South Korea could be able to expand trade profits with China while his home country and other Southeast Asian nations could gain greater excess into the Chinese market in terms of food trade.
"Moreover, while China is bound to attract more foreign investments, estimated at 60 billion U.S. dollars annually within first five years of WTO membership, the country will be engaged in more overseas investments from which her neighbors are among the first batch of recipients," said Supachai.
A Beginning for Greater SuccessAs a long-time China watcher, the future WTO leader said China's membership of the WTO should be the most beneficial to the evolving process of economic development in China herself.
"China's entry comes at a right time that economic reforms are getting into a more complicated stage and need further momentum to push them even harder," he said.
China also stands to gain from the acquisition of a permanent Most Favored Nation (MFN) status for permanent normal trade relations with other major world economic powers such as the United States, which will provide China a firmer base in international trade, according to Supachai.
"China's current global market share of five percent is bound to double within the next five to ten years," he said.
Another major gain for China is the use of WTO's Dispute Settlement Mechanism to resolve the rising number of the trade disputes and thus protect her legal rights, said Supachai.
For example, China's recent dispute with Japan on trade of tatami straw, anions and mushrooms could have been prevented by resorting to this mechanism at the WTO, he said.
"Most importantly, by being part of the WTO, China should be considered as a full member of the world economic community, and this should add to the political clout of China in world affairs and can provide China with a balancing weight in the global power equation," Supachai noted.
However, the future WTO chief said the adjustments for China for the first five years after accession could be a tough task.
The all-round reform process to realize China's commitments to WTO in agriculture, legal and administrative, banking, telecom and other sectors will not be easy, sometimes even painful, but eventually it will lead to a strong foundation for the Chinese economy, he said.
"China's accession into the WTO is only the beginning saga of a successful story of applying openness and cooperation as a strategy to the maximum benefits for China and the rest of the world as well," Supachai concluded.
|
|
|
|