China has 'entirely delivered' on its WTO commitments
China has fully fulfilled its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments since its entry into the multilateral trading system in 2001, the Ministry of Commerce said.
China has actively participated in the work of the WTO and its efforts have received full recognition from the director general of the WTO and most WTO members, Wang Shouwen, China's vice minister of commerce and the deputy China International Trade Representative said during a recent press conference on the WTO's eighth trade policy review of China.
The ministry elaborated on China's new development philosophy and its new reform and opening-up measures during the eighth review in addition to responding to concerns raised by WTO members, according to Xinhua news agency.
China's goods tariff has been reduced to 7.4 percent from 15.3 percent at the beginning of its accession to the WTO, lower than all other developing country members and close to that of developed country members.
It is even below the promised level of 9.8 percent.
In addition, China has also widely opened its market in the services industry.
Now, China has "exceeded its commitments" of opening 100 sub-sectors in nine service categories in 2007. Nearly 120 sub-sectors have been opened, Wang added.
"Some WTO members raised concerns in some other areas, which may have exceeded WTO regulations," the ministry said, adding that it is "inappropriate" for them to say that China has not fulfilled its WTO obligations based on their expectations beyond the WTO.
Responding to the question about whether China should abandon its special and differential treatment based on being a developing member in the WTO, Wang noted that although China has made considerable progress in economic and social development, the problem of uneven development is still prominent, and China's international status as the world's largest developing country has not changed.
In future negotiations, China, as a responsible major country and the world's largest developing country, will still maintain a balance between rights and obligations, the official emphasized.
The WTO started its eighth trade policy review of China on October 20, which lasted three days. The country had undergone seven trade policy reviews by the WTO previously, with the last review being conducted in 2018.
China officially became a member of WTO on December 11, 2001.
