WTO Director General Pascal Lamy receives a video interview at People's Daily Online on June 29, 2013. (People's Daily Online/ Yu Kai) |
Beijing, June 29 (People's Daily Online)-- Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organization, today expressed optimism for China’s role in global trade system in the next decade.
“During the last 10 years, China has become a major player in international trade through trade expansion. Exports of China have been growing rapidly, and imports of China have also been growing rapidly, although China remains with a trade surplus. This will probably change when China develops its domestic markets,” Lamy said in an exclusive interview with People’s Daily Online.
According to statistics from China Customs, in 2012, China’s total volume of import and export amounted to 3.87 trillion U.S. dollars, making it the world’s second largest trading nation.
Lamy believes the next stage of China’s participation into the world economy is not only with trade but with investment as China’s companies are investing abroad more and more. “China will become a major player not just exporting from China, but establishing production facilities elsewhere on the planet, which will even contribute to the integrity of economy,” he said.
The will inevitably create trade tension or friction, notably in the Western world. “They have to get accustomed to Chinese companies investing in the U.S., Japan or the E.U.,” he added.
Believing trade tensions and disputes are natural in international trade, Lamy said the WTO members should resolve the disputes within the frame of the WTO, and it’s better to try and settle the disputes before going to the court.
This is Lamy’s second visit to People’s Daily Online. In 2003, he visited the website as the E.U. trade commissioner and had an online chat with the readers.
Graduation ceremony held in Zhejiang University