China Officially Submits Reform Proposal To WTO - Ministry Of Commerce

(@FahadShabbir)

China Officially Submits Reform Proposal to WTO - Ministry of Commerce

China officially submitted a WTO reform proposal condemning unilateralism in world trade and containing four concrete measures toward its optimization, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2019) China officially submitted a WTO reform proposal condemning unilateralism in world trade and containing four concrete measures toward its optimization, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday.

"With regards to profound changes in the world economic system today, the strengthening of unilateralism and protectionism, as the world globalization encounters difficulties and the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trade system faces severe challenges," the ministry official said, adding that China decided to work out its own recommendations.

According to the speaker, China's reform proposal offers four concrete measures, namely "resolving the crucial and urgent issues threatening the existence of the WTO ... increasing WTO's relevance in global economic governance ... improving the operational efficiency of the WTO ... and enhancing the inclusiveness of the multilateral trading system," according to proposal details published on the WTO website.

China is open to an inclusive dialogue around the proposed plan, the Chinese official added.

In the text of the proposal, Beijing specifically expresses concerns over the "enduring blockage" of the appointment of WTO appeal judges as well as tariff spikes on aluminum, steel and cars under the pretext of "national security," policies that are uniquely associated with the United States.

On May 13, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi denounced the long-term benefits of unilateral economic sanctions during a press conference following talks in Sochi with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said that both Moscow and Beijing condemn countries that manipulate the WTO's rules to their own benefit.

The tariff confrontation between the United States and China has been spiraling since US President Donald Trump's decision last June to impose 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods in a bid to fix the US-Chinese trade deficit. Last week, Washington more than doubled import duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods. China warned to retaliate by hiking tariffs on $60 billion of US imports starting June.