China joined the WTO to be come its 143rd member state on November 10， 2001 after eight years of negotiations.A seminar titled the Future of China and WTO was held in Beijing on the tenth anniversary of China’s accession to the WTO. It was attended by a good number of government officials who have participated in the WTO negotiations， foreign ambassadors to China， and distinguished scholars and experts from the world. They have reviewed China’s achievements since its entry into the WTO， discussed the nation’s future role in global governance and the WTO mechanism， China’s market economy system and other important topics.A milestone of the WTO and a new beginning of the China MiracleWTO Director-General Pascal Lamy， who has witnessed China’s efforts to join the organization， pointed out in a written statement at the seminar that China’s accession to the WTO is a milestone in the history of the organization. Over the past decade， China has understood the working mechanism of the WTO， fully participated in the activities of the agencies and groups it belongs to， and learned to avail itself of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to lodge complaints and defend itself.Lamy stressed that the past decade should also be a milestone in China’s history. The nation witnessed tremendous growth， awesome development， and better infrastructure. This trend has spread to every corner of the nation’s vast territory. There are universities across the nation， with the number of students receiving higher education increasing dramatically.In his statement at the seminar， Brazilian Ambassador to China Hugueney pointed out that the WTO has played an important role in China’s fast development. China is also very important to the WTO. China’s accession as the largest developing nation has changed the structure of the WTO， and enabled developing countries in the organization to be better coordinated， and seek common development.Ren Jianxin， Vice Chairman of the Ninth CPPCC National Committee， recalled his excitement at the news of the nation’s accession to the WTO a decade ago， in a written statement at the seminar. He said that the night of November 10th， 2001 is unforgettable for many people. WTO Director-General Lamy， the then EU representative， once said that China’s accession has turned the WTO into a truly comprehensive international economic and trade organization.In the decade following China’s accession to the WTO， the Chinese government has made great efforts to participate in the formulation of international rules. At the same time， it has stuck to its policy of opening up， and conducted win-win cooperation with WTO members in trade and investment. While opening up its own market， China has also seen an open international market. China’s economy has integrated further into the global one. The open international market has not only dramatically increased China’s trade volume but also facilitated the nation’s industrial restructuring and resulted in market-based， globalized industrial competition and large amounts of investment in various forms.China saw double-digit GDP growth in the past decade. Chinese people’s living standards have improved greatly， with 400 million people lifted out of poverty. China’s industry has been upgraded from being labor-intensive to technology-intensive. The prosperity of the Chinese market has also benefited other parts of the world. The U.S. exported US$92 billion worth of goods to China in 2010， more than 4.5 times of that in 2001. China imported US$2 billion worth of goods from Brazil in 2001， compared with US$31 billion in 2010. Tens of millions of foreign investors are conducting business in China， contributing to China’s rapid economic growth.China was the world’s 6th largest exporter in 2001， with its trade volume accounting for 4% of the world trade. Today， China is the world’s second largest economy and the world’s largest exporter of goods. Entry into the WTO has contributed to the “China miracle”.Win-win situation for China and the rest of the worldXu Kuangdi， Vice Chairman of the Tenth CPPCC National Committee and Honorary President of the China Society of World Trade Organization Studies， noted in his speech that first of all， China’s accession to the WTO has sped up the nation’s process of opening up. In the past decade， China’s general tariff was lowered from 15.3% to 9.8%， average tariff of agricultural products from 18.8% to 15.2%， average tariff of industrial products 14.7% to 8.9%. 424 tariff lines of products were imported. Non-tariff measures were canceled as scheduled. More than 100 service trade sectors were opened， accounting for 62.5% of the total number of WTO trade sectors. By the end of 2010， Chinese enterprises accounted for 20% of the nation’s total trade volume， foreignfunded enterprises 55%， private and other businesses 25%， marking the diversification of the nation’s foreign trade.China’s dependence on foreign trade has increased to 50% from less than 40% before its accession to the WTO. An open Chinese market has not only led to leap-frog development of the nation’s economy， but also provided enormous market for other nations around the world and opportunities for investors， contributing greatly to the world economic growth. China has been elected as the most popular destination of investment for several consecutive times since 2007 in UNCTAD annual surveys. As of the end of 2010， 480 of the world’s top 500 enterprises were present in China. Multinational companies set up over 1，400 RD institutions here， double the number at the end of the 10th Five Years. Accession into the WTO has improved China’s international environment and expand the space for Chinese enterprises to go global. Overseas investment by China’s non-financial enterprises was only US$2.7 billion in 2002. China’s foreign investment reached US$40.65 billion in 2008 despite the impact of the financial crisis. The number grew to US$59 billion in 2010， the fifth largest among all nations.Second， China’s accession to the WTO has facilitated the nation’s process of reform. Since China’s accession to the WTO， the Chinese government has intervened less in the nation’s economic affairs， dropped its role as a direct participant in economic activities， focused more on public service and strengthened the rule of law. Meanwhile， China’s WTO-related legal system has seen rapid development. China’s laws， rules and regulations on trade have been adjusted across the board. Over 2300 pieces of national laws， rules and regulations and 190，000 local ones have been amended or abolished.Trade law has increased Chinese citizens and legal persons’ awareness of litigation. Chinese enterprises have gradually learnt to use WTO laws and rules to tackle trade frictions. Only 40% of Chinese enterprises involved in anti-dumping or other trade frictions responded to lawsuits in 2002， compared with 90% at present. The figure is 100% in cases of anti-dumping lawsuits by European and American nations. Since entry into the WTO， China has encouraged the development of the private sector， in line with the principle of national treatment. There were over 8.4 million private enterprises in China by the end of 2010， accounting for 70% of the nation’s industrial enterprises， and hiring 80% of the nation’s workforce.Third， opening up and reform have contributed greatly to China’s economic development. The past decade witnessed the best and fastest economic and social development in China， with an average annual GDP growth of 10.5% and economic output rising to the second from the sixth place in the world. It has become the world’s second largest trading nation and the largest exporting nation. It has used the largest amount of foreign capital among all developing nations for 18 consecutive years. It received US$105.74 billion in foreign investment in 2010， 1.25 times that of 2001. China’s foreign direct investment accounts for over 5% of the world’s total， the fifth largest among all nations and the largest among developing nations， according to United Nations reports.Many countries have benefited from China’s development in the past decade. China exports a huge amount of inexpensive consumer goods， which enhances the purchasing power of consumers around the world. Among a total of 5000 categories of goods， China exports the largest amounts of 1210 of them， according to the Korea International Trade Association. With the transformation of the global industrial structure and the deepening of China’s opening up， China has become the driving force of the global economic development. China’s share of world’s GDP has increased from 4.4% in 2002 to 8.6% in 2009， according to World Bank statistics. Its contribution to the world’s GDP growth has increased from 4.6% in 2003 to 14.5% in 2009， the largest among all nations.Changes in China’s role mean more responsibilityChina has grown from a participant in the WTO into a mature member and a drafter of world trade rules. Changes in China’s role and status mean new requirements of the nation， and stronger responsibility in the global economy.Swiss Ambassador to China Blaise Godet pointed out in his speech that after a decade of development， China now has the responsibility to lead the world economy. As the second largest WTO member， China has deeply changed the world trade. China needs to further open its market， especially its service market.Lamy pointed out that China’s growing economic strength has attracted world attention. People expect China to be a better leader in international affairs. The WTO members agreed that China can make further improvements in some fields， intellectual property protection for example.Former Australian Ambassador to China Geoff Raby believes that China has undergone a decade of far-reaching changes. Today China is the world’s most dynamic economy， and a nation of great international influence. Therefore， it should take more responsibility and play a greater role.Xu Kuangdi noted that China’s past decade in the WTO is only a beginning. There is a long way to go to- ward deeper reformer and opening up. China’s status and role have been changing along with the process of economic globalization. There are still many issues worthy of further studies.Chinese viceMinister of Commerce Wang Chao has analyzed the changes in the nation’s role in the global economy and trade. He noted that after thirty years of reform and opening up， especially in the past decade， the Chinese economy has been fully integrated into the world economy. China is playing an increasingly important role in the global production system， and its position in the international division of labor system is undergoing profound changes. China’s comparative advantage still lies in labor-intensive industries. However， it’s encouraging to see the nation become more competitive in emerging industries. Our positions in the global production chains have been expanding， so is our market. We are not only the largest destination of direct investment by developing countries， but also becoming one of the world’s major investing nations. These changes mean that we need to understand new characteristics of the times and have new ideas when establishing and maintaining foreign trade relations.Lamy believed that China’s accession to the WTO proved to be winwin for China and the rest of the world. A WTO membership provides China with a more transparent， secure and predictable market for its products and services. The stability has made China the world’s largest exporter of industrial goods. Many of these products are not all made in China. Most of the parts and components come from various economies， to be assembled in China. China dominates the global value chain， especially that of Asia.Sun Zhenyu， president of China Society for World Trade Organization Studies and the first Chinese Ambassador to the WTO， believes that China should play an active and constructive role in international multilateral organizations in the future. In order to do that， China should continue to reform and open up. There is much to be done in improving the legal system， transforming the functions of the Government， opening the market for goods and services， etc.Li Rongrong， former Director of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission under the State Council， also believed that China faces an arduous task of Stateowned enterprise reform. There is still much work to do. We are yet to transform State-owned enterprises into stock companies， accelerate diversification of property rights to State-owned enterprises， and actively explore equity incentive mechanism for the staff and the management. In terms of corporate governance， we need to have real and effective board of directors and sound external director system， explore new forms of corporate democracy， further deepen corporate reform， encourage independent innovation， improve management， optimize resource allocation， and continuously improve the overall strength and quality of enterprises. In short， we need to continue with our exploration， draw upon the strengths of oriental and western company systems， and contribute to the sustainable development of the world economy.
