Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Tuesday that as a responsible major developing country, China will not seek any new special and differential treatment in the current and future World Trade Organization negotiations, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Li made the remarks at a high-level meeting on the Global Development Initiative held by China on the sidelines of the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
After Li's announcement, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said via social media X that "This is a culmination of many years of hard work and I want to applaud China's leadership on this issue."
Following the announcement, Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and vice minister of commerce, said at a MOFCOM's conference that the move is an important policy declaration by China made with both domestic and international considerations in mind.
Li Chenggang stressed it reflects China's firm commitment to safeguarding the multilateral trading system, advancing the implementation of the Global Development Initiative and participating actively in global governance.
The decision will serve as a strong boost to trade and investment liberalization and facilitation worldwide, while injecting positive momentum into the reform of the global economic governance system, the vice commerce minister said.
He stressed that when China joined the WTO in 2001 as a developing member, enjoying special and differential treatment was a legitimate institutional right.
Within the WTO framework, the treatment for developing members mainly includes lower levels of commitments and obligations, longer transition periods for implementation, and access to trade capacity-building and technical assistance. Since joining the WTO, while enjoying these arrangements, China has actively participated in multilateral trade negotiations, he said.
Based on its development stage and capacity, China has handled issues concerning special and differential treatment in a pragmatic and voluntary manner, contributing significantly to the conclusion of multiple WTO agreements and to promoting freer and more convenient global trade, the vice commerce minister noted.
Li Chenggang stressed that the rules-based multilateral trading system is facing severe challenges, as hegemony, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise in the world.
Certain countries have launched repeated trade and tariff wars, which have seriously undermined the system, damaged the legitimate rights and interests of WTO members, disrupted the global economic and trade order, and brought uncertainty and instability to global growth, Li Chenggang said. In this context, China's announcement that it will not seek new special and differential treatment in current and future WTO negotiations further demonstrates its firm commitment to supporting the multilateral trading system with concrete actions and its sense of responsibility as a major country.
Li emphasized that China remains the world's largest developing country, and this status has not changed. China is always a member of the Global South and will always stand together with other developing countries.
Looking ahead, China will stay committed to the goals of Chinese modernization, deepen reform across the board, expand high-level opening-up, and advance high-quality development, according to Li Chenggang. He said China will continue to safeguard the multilateral trading system, take a comprehensive part in WTO reform and the adjustment of international economic and trade rules. It will firmly stand with other developing members to keep development at the center of WTO reform, promote more development-oriented outcomes, and push global economic governance toward a fairer and more equitable direction.
During the same MOFCOM press conference, Han Yong, director general of the Department of WTO Affairs at the MOFCOM, stressed that three things will not change in China's approach to current and future WTO negotiations: its status as a developing member, its determination to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing members, and its commitment to promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.
Looking ahead, Han said China will continue to firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, and is ready to strengthen communication and cooperation with all parties to help build an open world economy. He noted that China will take a clear stand against unilateralism and protectionism, while safeguarding the WTO's basic principles and rules, including non-discrimination.
Since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has made clear its entry into a new stage of high-level opening-up, against the backdrop of a complex global trade landscape marked by rising unilateralism and protectionism, and China has consistently upheld the irreversible trend of economic globalization and voiced firm support for multilateralism and the multilateral trading system, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
In this context, China's decision to not seek new "special and differential treatment" in future WTO negotiations underscores the sense of responsibility as the world's second-largest economy and a major market of unparalleled scale, Cong noted.
China remains a developing country, but out of a sense of responsibility and contribution as a major power, it is willing to leave more public resources to countries in greater need, Cong said.
"As the largest developing country, China continues to strictly adhere to WTO principles and market rules, while advancing unilateral and voluntary opening-up measures to support the stability and growth of global trade and the multilateral system," Cong said. He stressed that this position highlights China's responsibility and leadership in the current international landscape, aiming to foster global development through openness and inclusiveness.
(Source: Global Times)