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Country Information
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WTO Commitments and Impact
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Accession |
After 15 years of negotiations,
China became a member of the WTO on 11 December 2001. |
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Commitments to the WTO |
Dispute settlement
As a member, China’s participation in the WTO's dispute settlement system is
mandatory. |
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Transparency and
predictability
Systemic reforms to effect a more transparent and predictable regime for
business dealings are underway in China. Laws and regulations including
those not previously avaialbale to the public will be regularly published
(in the WTO languages as well). A 30-day period for obtaining information
and commentary is planned prior to the implementation of new laws and
regulations. China commits to the uniform and impartial application,
administration and implementation of laws and regulations throughout the
nation.
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Tariffs
China will significantly reduce its tariffs on industrial products by
January 2005 to 8.9%. (down from an average of 25%). Products which will
have their tariffs eliminated completely are furniture, toys and beer.
Tariffs will be significantly reduced on medical equipment, scientific
equipment, motor vehicles, cosmetics, distilled spirits, paper products, and
textiles. Products under the Information Technology Agreement which China
joined, will be eliminated by January 2005. |
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Service Commitments
Elimination of market access restrictions will liberalize the service sector
including telecommunications, insurance, banking, and professional services
such as accounting, legal and management services.
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Trading Rights and
Distribution
The previous restriction on the number of companies that have the right to
import and export goods will be relaxed. All enterprises in China will be
granted full trading rights (except for limited products reserved for trade
by state enterprises). The previous prohibition on foreign companies
distributing products through their own wholesale and retail systems or to
provide related distribution services, such as repair and maintenance will
be lifted under China’s commitments. At accession, China also committed to
allow foreign service suppliers to distribute chemical fertilizers,
processed oil and crude oil. |
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Import Licensing
China's import licensing system previously posed a trade barrier. This will
be lifted and licensing must comply with the principles of national
treatment and non-discrimination. |
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Importation and Investment
Approvals
Importation and investment approvals will become easier with the removal of
many pre-conditions. The WTO Agreement on Trade-related Investment Measures
and the TRIPS Agreement will be followed in enforcing, imposing or applying
laws and regulations related to the transfer of technology.
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Trade-related Intellectual
Property Rights
China’s development of the protection of intellectual property rights will
be via full implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. |
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Technical Barriers to Trade
China will comply with WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement (e.g.
inspection, testing, domestic taxes, and other measures). Technical
regulations will be based on international standards and will be applied
equally to domestic and foreign products. China will be required to apply
science-based sanitary and phytosanitary standards to all agricultural
goods, including grains, meats, and fruits. |
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Taxes
China will ensure that its laws and regulations relating to internal taxes
(national, provincial and local) and import charges comply with WTO rules.,
and are applied non-discriminatingly.
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Subsidies
All subsidies on industrial goods prohibited under WTO rules will be
eliminated. |
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China's
accession to the WTO is expected to have these impacts |
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reduced distortion of trade as
Chinese export subsidies are eliminated and the use of state trading to
control imports is reduced;
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increased Chinese imports of
bulk commodities that can be more efficiently grown in other countries;
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as market forces play a
greater role and as transparency in policy decisions increases, there will
be greater predictability of China's import demand and export sales;
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as WTO accession leads to
further economic growth and rising consumer incomes, Chinese consumption
of meats and high-value products will rise.
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