China in the World Trading System: Defining the Principles of Engagement

by Frederick M. Abbott, Frederick Abbott

China's constructive integration into the world trade and economic system is of the utmost importance to the people of Asia, to the United States and other OECD countries, and to the international community as a whole. The Chinese economy of decades past -- under the rigid domination of state planners and isolated from the outside world -- is substantially transforming to market orientation and openness to trade. The future path of the Chinese economy, now the second largest in the world, will strongly influence the path of economic development in the Asia-Pacific region, and with it the path of the world trading system. This book brings together leading international trade law and economics experts, government officials responsible for the formulation and implementation of trade policy with China, and business executives at firms with significant interests in China, to consider the future of trade policy for and with China. The World Trade Organization (WTO) stands firmly as the third pillar of the system of international institutions designed to promote a world of peace, financial stability, and economic development. This book focuses on China's prospective accession to the WTO -- a step that would commit China to following the rule of law in international trade. The terms of China's accession will provide guideposts for accessions by other former command economy countries, including Russia. Bringing China into the WTO system is vital to the WTO and to the future of world trade. So too is assuring that the accession is accomplished in a way that preserves the open character and rule orientation of the system.

200 pages, Paperback

Published April 29, 1998