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Yu Miaojie: China A Top Student at WTO

Mar 11-2020   



China’s GDP per capita has surpassed USD10,000 for the first time; consequently, more and more people cast a watchful eye on China’s status as a developing country. In an interview with The Economic Daily, Prof. Yu Miaojie says that China remains a developing country – the largest in the world.

 

The WTO doesn’t spell out rigorous definitions for ‘developing country’ and ‘developed country’. The gauges commonly used are from the World Bank: For one, GNI per capita at USD12,375 constitutes the line between the two; For another, capital abundance. At RBM10 trillion, China’s GPD (a proxy for capital) amounts to around 16% of the world, still lower than the 20% ratio of its population to global total. On both accounts, China is yet to be a developed country, says Prof. Yu who is also Deputy Dean of the NSD.

 

Since joining the WTO in 2001, China has been fulfilling its obligations and commitments in accordance with its international stature and has been pushing forward trade internationalization with an active and open attitude. For a start, it has significantly slashed tariffs and currently has an average weighed import duty of 4.4%, lower than most developing countries and even some developed countries. Such performance is better than what the WTO stipulates. Moreover, China has been paring down Non-Tariff Measures and actively following international standards such as ISO and IEC.

 

Furthermore, China’s has been making commendable progress in service trade and IPR protection. China paid USD7.2 billion to the US for IPR in 2017, more than double the USD3.46 billion in 2011, showing the progress in its implementation of the TRIPS agreements. Insofar as service is concerned, China doesn’t pursue a trade surplus; in fact, it has recorded long-running trade deficits with the US. In 2018, China posted a service trade deficit of over USD290 billion, of which USD60 billion was logged with the US.

Yu Miaojie: China A Top Student at WTO

Mar 11-2020   



China’s GDP per capita has surpassed USD10,000 for the first time; consequently, more and more people cast a watchful eye on China’s status as a developing country. In an interview with The Economic Daily, Prof. Yu Miaojie says that China remains a developing country – the largest in the world.

 

The WTO doesn’t spell out rigorous definitions for ‘developing country’ and ‘developed country’. The gauges commonly used are from the World Bank: For one, GNI per capita at USD12,375 constitutes the line between the two; For another, capital abundance. At RBM10 trillion, China’s GPD (a proxy for capital) amounts to around 16% of the world, still lower than the 20% ratio of its population to global total. On both accounts, China is yet to be a developed country, says Prof. Yu who is also Deputy Dean of the NSD.

 

Since joining the WTO in 2001, China has been fulfilling its obligations and commitments in accordance with its international stature and has been pushing forward trade internationalization with an active and open attitude. For a start, it has significantly slashed tariffs and currently has an average weighed import duty of 4.4%, lower than most developing countries and even some developed countries. Such performance is better than what the WTO stipulates. Moreover, China has been paring down Non-Tariff Measures and actively following international standards such as ISO and IEC.

 

Furthermore, China’s has been making commendable progress in service trade and IPR protection. China paid USD7.2 billion to the US for IPR in 2017, more than double the USD3.46 billion in 2011, showing the progress in its implementation of the TRIPS agreements. Insofar as service is concerned, China doesn’t pursue a trade surplus; in fact, it has recorded long-running trade deficits with the US. In 2018, China posted a service trade deficit of over USD290 billion, of which USD60 billion was logged with the US.