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The View
OpinionComment
Wang Huiyao
Wang Huiyao

Why China should lead the mission to save the ailing WTO and revive multilateralism

  • China, having benefited tremendously from WTO membership, is now in a position to spearhead WTO reforms as a bridge between developed and developing nations
  • It won’t be easy but Beijing can get the ball rolling in areas of agreement such as e-commerce regulations and marine plastic pollution

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Chinese Ambassador to the WTO Zhang Xiangchen (left) chats with his US counterpart Dennis Shea before a WTO meeting in Geneva in July last year. Photo: Reuters
Wang Huiyao

The fate of the World Trade Organisation hangs in the balance. On December 10, just a single judge will be left on its Appellate Body as the terms of two remaining judges expire.

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With the United States blocking new appointments, the world’s top trade court will be left short of the quorum required to hear appeals, effectively paralysing the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and undermining its defences against protectionism.
This demise comes when the global trading system is already fractious and vulnerable. A plan is needed to breathe life back into the WTO which, despite its faults, has underpinned growth for the past quarter of a century and remains the best vehicle for global trade liberalisation.
China, in particular, has benefited greatly since joining the WTO in 2001; now, the country should play a leading role in helping to reform and revive the organisation.
President Donald Trump at an Atlanta rally on November 8. Last year, he said he would pull the US out of the WTO if it does not “shape up” and treat America better, adding that the agreement which established the organisation “was the single worst trade deal ever made”. Photo: AP
President Donald Trump at an Atlanta rally on November 8. Last year, he said he would pull the US out of the WTO if it does not “shape up” and treat America better, adding that the agreement which established the organisation “was the single worst trade deal ever made”. Photo: AP
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While the Appellate Body crisis is the most urgent malady afflicting the WTO, it is by no means the only one. For many years, the organisation has failed to keep up with important shifts in the global economy.

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