China's 20th WTO Anniversary - Cause for celebration?

This December will mark the 20th anniversary since China’s accession to the WTO. In the intervening two decades, China’s economic miracle stemmed largely from its integration into the global trade, investment and technology ecosystems.

However, while China gained extensive access to global markets and value chains, it did not always reciprocate, nor did it fully live up to its commitments made in the negotiated accession agreement. Now entering its third decade in the global trade bloc, China is increasingly under pressure to live up to both its specific accession commitments, and to the spirit of WTO membership, or continue to face greater scrutiny from liberal market economies.

To mark this anniversary, MERICS hosted an online panel discussion featuring:

• Alicia Garcia Herrero, Chief economist for the Asia pacific at NATIXIS and Senior Fellow at Bruegel
• Pascal Lamy, President of the Paris Peace Forum and former Director General of the WTO
• Audrey Winter, former Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China
• Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China

MERICS Director Mikko Huotari guided these top-level guests through a conversation about:

• China’s adherence and non-compliance to key provisions of its accession agreement
• Options available to the EU and like-minded partners to push China to complete its economic opening, and how they can respond to continued non-compliance
• The future of the WTO in a world in which China remains incompletely aligned with trade and investment norms and expectations