China became a WTO member after 14 years of negotiations. Its accession was granted conditional upon a long list of liberalisation and opening-up measures (set mostly by the US) to allow greater access to, and see greater transparency in, China’s markets. China was, in broad terms, required to: Lower its tariffs to under 10% within five years and reduce tariffs on some agricultural imports almost to zero. The reduction or elimination of non-tariff barriers. The opening up of some key sectors including telecommunication and banking. Protecting global intellectual property rights.
