The Background of China's Entry into the World Trade Organization

Legal analysis: The World Trade Organization ranks alongside the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as one of the three most extensive international economic organizations in the world today. Its main functions include: formulating international economic and trade rules and supervising their implementation, organizing members to open market negotiations, and establishing dispute settlement mechanisms among members. Therefore, it is called "Economic United Nations". Since the mid-1980s, whether a country participates in the multilateral trading system based on GATT and WTO has become an important measure to measure whether a country joins the international community responsibly and whether its economy is in line with the world economy. At present, the trade volume among WTO 142 members accounts for 95% of the total world trade, and investment accounts for 80% of the total global transnational investment. Getting a seat in the WTO is equivalent to getting multiple passes in the international market. China needs WTO. Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out long ago that "the development of China cannot be separated from the world" and "it is impossible to build behind closed doors". The benefits and risks of economic globalization are not equal to those of developed and developing countries, but if developing countries don't want to lag behind and be passively beaten for a long time, they must conform to the trend and actively integrate into economic globalization. Since the reform and opening up, especially since 1992, China's economic strength has been significantly enhanced, and it has been able to participate in international division of labor and competition in many fields. However, due to long-term exclusion from the world multilateral trading system, we have to rely mainly on bilateral consultations and agreements to coordinate foreign economic and trade relations, which makes domestic enterprises and products suffer many discriminatory or unfair treatments when entering the international market. After joining the WTO, China not only has the right to share the fruits of economic globalization, but also can participate in formulating relevant rules of the game, seize the initiative in establishing a new international economic order, and take advantage of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to occupy a favorable position in the international trade war. At the same time, the WTO also needs China. As the largest developing country in the world, China has a population of more than 1/5, and its economic aggregate and total import and export value rank among the top in the world, and its foreign investment absorption ranks first among developing countries for many years. Among them, the trade volume with WTO members accounts for 90% of China's total foreign trade. Obviously, without China's accession, the WTO would be incomplete and could not truly reflect its worldwide nature.

Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Foreign Trade Law.

Article 5 People's Republic of China (PRC) shall, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, promote and develop trade relations with other countries and regions, conclude or join regional economic and trade agreements such as customs union agreements and free trade zone agreements, and participate in regional economic organizations.

Article 6 In terms of foreign trade, People's Republic of China (PRC) grants MFN treatment and national treatment to other contracting parties and participants in accordance with international treaties and agreements it has concluded or acceded to, or grants MFN treatment and national treatment to each other in accordance with the principle of reciprocity and reciprocity.

Article 7 Where any country or region adopts discriminatory prohibitions, restrictions or other similar measures against People's Republic of China (PRC) in trade, People's Republic of China (PRC) may take corresponding measures against that country or region according to the actual situation.