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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Feb24/13) Geneva, 16 Feb (D. Ravi Kanth) — China on 15 February called for “meaningful outcomes” at the World Trade Organization’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13), which begins in just ten days’ time in Abu Dhabi, despite outcomes being unclear on the mandated issues in agriculture, fisheries subsidies, and development, including LDC issues, said people familiar with the discussions. At a hybrid press briefing, China’s trade envoy, Li Chenggang, painted an upbeat picture that things can be accomplished at MC13 if countries embraced “trust, cooperation, and compromise” to arrive at “meaningful outcomes”. Ambassador Li said China has been consistently calling for “institutional reform” as well as “reform” that is pro-development and developing country-friendly. China suggested a change in the negotiating function of the WTO to address the challenges of the 21st century. It called for a “well-functioning” dispute settlement system. In its statement at a special General Council meeting on 14 February, China expressed disappointment “at missing the opportunity of delivering this outcome at MC13.” It urged members to find “a proper solution to the appeal/review issue, the most important element and gateway issue in DS reform,” underscoring the need for “a fully and well-functioning DSS [dispute settlement system] as soon as possible.” The Chinese trade envoy laid considerable emphasis on reforms in the MC13 outcome document. At the special General Council meeting on 14 February, the Chinese trade envoy said, “On the draft Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration, I share the view that the Ministerial Declaration should be high-level, political, and forward-looking. We should strive to agree on the most important political messages, that is how to make the WTO work better at its 30th anniversary, and send the message collectively to the outside world, without bogging down in disagreement over details.” There appears to be an unusual convergence in the views expressed by China at the special General Council meeting on how the WTO must become fit for the 21st century and the WTO Director-General’s mention of “re-globalization” and why an agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) must be concluded at MC13, said people, who asked not to be quoted. The Chinese trade envoy appeared to up the ante on concluding the controversial plurilateral IFD agreement at MC13 as it is being backed by 123 members and that it is development-friendly. Ambassador Li also suggested that if an agreement on IFD can be concluded at MC13, then, it could be christened as a Global Investment Treaty. He also listed other outcomes that ought to be concluded at MC13 such as the second phase of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, agriculture including on SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary measures), and a strong package of outcomes for the least-developed countries (LDCs). Ambassador Li expressed disappointment that the mandated MC12 Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement could not be extended to COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. Given the seeming commonality of views between China and other industrialized countries on the need to change the WTO’s negotiating function, a trade official said that China continues to emphasize on the principle of consensus-based decision-making, adding, however, that with the change of times, things also have to change. On the issue of foregoing developing-country status at the WTO, the trade official cited the different levels of per capita income of some developed countries and China, suggesting that it will certainly give up its developing- country status once it reaches the level of per capita income of the developed countries. Notwithstanding the unilateral trade measures like the carbon-border adjustment measures that are expected to be imposed by the European Union, China seems to be aligning with the industrialized countries on entering into the realm of trade and climate change and enhanced trade and environment dialogue, the trade official suggested. In short, there appears to be growing convergence between the MC13 demands of the major industrialized countries like the US and the EU, and China, as well as the WTO DG, particularly in the realm of new issues concerning trade and environment, trade and climate change, and more plurilateral initiatives without prior multilateral consensus, said people familiar with the discussions. +
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