China contributes a lot to global growth as WTO member: WEF official

GENEVA: After its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has been playing a constructive role over the years, Sean Doherty, head of International Trade and Investment at the World Economic Forum (WEF), told Xinhua.

On December 11, 2001, China officially joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and became its 143rd member.

Doherty, also a member of the executive committee at the WEF, said in a recent interview that over the last two decades, China has clearly become a major player in global trade, particularly for goods, and contributed significantly to global growth.

According to him, China’s accession to the WTO helps promote domestic reform, accelerate the pace of China’s opening up and enhance its competitiveness.

In China’s case, the WTO membership was valuable in giving confidence to the investors to invest, Doherty said, adding that this has also helped technology diffusion, the raising of product quality, and environmental controls.

Doherty said that China has complied with the rulings of WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism, and it recently has shown leadership on topics like investment facilitation.

“China is working hard to have a balanced trade, importing, as well as exporting,” Doherty said, taking the ongoing fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE) as a good example.

CIIE has become a very well-known and well-attended expo, which offers an excellent opportunity for those outside China to learn more about the possibilities of business within China and develop stronger relationships with the Chinese enterprises, he said.

Doherty said that China, as both a large consumer and producer, will play a critical role in the WTO on environmental protection and social development issues in the future.

Facing the challenge of anti-globalisation, he believes that the WTO members need to reach consensus through the WTO and implement them.