The Positioning Of China In The Wto, The Role And Strategy

A problem to be studied after China's WTO accession is how to set up China's status, role and strategy in the WTO, which is crucial to realize the motive and object of China's entry into the WTO. The dissertation applies the paradigm of the political economy and historical methodology to analyze the problems such as the WTO's institutional characteristics and operational mechanism, important actors' status, role and strategy in the GATT/WTO, and the course and effects of China's WTO accession, so as to clarify the understanding and cognition of the multilateral trading system, and to tentatively put forward my own ideas and opinions about China's status, role and strategy in the WTO.The WTO is running not as an international institution but as an intergovernmental organization. The fairness and reciprocity in the formal level of the WTO cannot conceal the power politics exposed in the informal decision-making process, multilateral negotiations and dispute settlement mechanism. So each member will utilize the nature of the WTO as a member-driven organization to maximize his benefits in the WTO, but not only comply with the WTO rules. Based on the case studies on US, EC, India and Japan, it is found that every member's purpose of participating the multilateral trading system is to utilize it as a tool of obtain his own national interests, though they have taken different status, role and strategy in the GATT/WTO. Viewed from the history of Chinese GATT and WTO negotiating process, China's participation in the multilateral trading system is a strategy that accords with the national interest. As an emerging power in the world, China will disorder the current system. China's purpose in accession to the WTO is to realize the national interest and to maintain the stability and improvement of the multilateral trading system is coincident with China's interests. So China will be an active power of stability in the WTO. Especially China will play an important role in harmonizing developed members and developing ones, and make the WTO play more active role in development. The positive pragmatism should be the basic strategy of China's participation in the WTO. Under the multilateral framework, bilateral and regional approaches are useful complementary tools to realize China's diversified interests. As a new member that had just made a great deal of commitments, it is a logical strategy for China to act as a bridgebuilder between developed countries and developing countries and to promote the WTO more balanced and pro-poor.