Green light given to China WTO accession
The resultant accord, signed last Monday, paves the way to China becoming a full WTO member before the end of the year. Further cheer was provided the following Tuesday when a similar accord was granted to Taiwan. Although both applications have yet to go before a Ruling Council meeting in November at Doha, Qatar, they are almost certain to be approved as the Geneva working party also makes up the ruling council.
The Chinese talks had become bogged down in a dispute between the US and the EU over the status of a major US insurer’s offices in the country. But on the day this and other outstanding issues were quickly resolved as - spurred on perhaps by the tragic events of earlier in the week – negotiators made a determined effort to bring China into the WTO fold once and for all.
Progress was further aided by Mexico’s decision on Thursday to drop its long-standing objection to Chinese accession. The solution was provided by an agreement that will enable Mexico to maintain restrictions on Chinese imports for six years – a measure that will give its domestic manufacturing sector time to adjust to the new world order.
Though China’s membership of the WTO has been widely welcomed, some of the more export-oriented countries of the developing world are now worried at the consequences for their key markets. As well as being the world’s largest manufacturer of footwear, China is also a major producer of textiles, consumer goods and agricultural produce. The fear now is that with its vast labour resources, China will swamp the markets of the other WTO members. There are also doubts that the agreement will be adequately enforced - particularly in the more remote areas of China where there is a high tally of state-run firms and an ingrained culture of protectionism.
For the moment, however, the outlook is overwhelmingly positive as the WTO membership gears up to exploit the potential of the world’s most populous market of 1.2 billion consumers.
