Bloomberg reported on the 23rd local time that in response to China's announcement that "it will not seek new special and differential treatment in current and future WTO negotiations," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala posted on social media platform "X": "I want to commend China for its leadership on this issue!" Wendy Cutler, former U.S. Deputy Trade Representative, said that China's move is a proactive commitment to the multilateral trading system, while the United States still owes WTO fees by comparison.
Previously, in the WTO, the "developing country status" of member states was self-declared by the country and could provide various benefits, including longer implementation periods for agreements and more trade opportunities, etc. China had long positioned itself as "the world's largest developing country," but the United States has long questioned and opposed this positioning by citing that "China is the world's second-largest economy."
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, AFP
The report stated that the issue of China's status has been communicated and coordinated for many years. Okonjo-Iweala's tweet also stated that China's statement is the "result of years of efforts."
Wendy Cutler, Deputy Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute and former U.S. Deputy Trade Representative, said: "The statement helps China prove that they will fulfill their commitments to the multilateral trading system, which contrasts sharply with the U.S. practice of withholding WTO fees." Bloomberg's report commented that China's statement removed the obstacles to reaching an agreement with the U.S. on reforming the global trade arbitration institution.
On the 24th, during a press briefing held by the Ministry of Commerce of China, Li Chenggang, the Minister of Foreign Trade Negotiations and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that this was an important position statement made by China in light of the international and domestic situations. It is an important measure by China to firmly safeguard the multilateral trading system and actively implement the global development initiative and global governance. It will certainly serve as a booster for promoting the liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment, and inject positive energy into the process of reforming the global economic governance system.
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