Sino-EU group expected to work on WTO reform

Defending multilateral trading system high on agenda at summit in Beijing

The European Union and China are expected to set up a working group to deepen cooperation on reforming the multilateral trading system, said a senior EU trade diplomat on Wednesday.

The joint decision is likely to be finalized at the upcoming Sino-EU summit on July 16 and 17. A few weeks ago, when China and the EU held an economic and trade dialogue in Beijing, the idea emerged.

“I would expect that at the summit ... we will reconfirm establishing a working group on WTO reform,” said Marc Vanheukelen, the EU’s ambassador and permanent representative to the Genevabased World Trade Organization.

Vanheukelen spoke in an interview at a WTO session in Geneva reviewing China’s trade policy. His comments indicated that defending the multilateral trading system, which has been roiled by high tariffs enacted by the administration of US President Donald Trump, will be high on the summit’s agenda.

Vanheukelen did not go into details on the issue, saying the EU is willing to hold conversations with all WTO members not only to safeguard the trading system but also to complete the WTO rule book.

“As one of China’s top trading partners, the European Union looks forward to continuing to work with China with a sense of shared responsibility to not only safeguard but strengthen the multilateral trading system,” he said.

The WTO policy review session on China will end on Friday. It is a regular mechanism to review the trade policy of the world’s top four trading economies — China, the US, the EU and Japan — every two years.

Vanheukelen said China’s economic reforms, impressive for years, have continued and produced what has been called an economic miracle.

“Given the weight of China’s economy in international trade, we expect that China’s leadership role will come with responsibility,” he said.

Syed Tauqir Shah, Pakistan’s ambassador and permanent representative to the WTO, called China’s role in the WTO “critical”.

“With strong protectionism gathering around and attacking the multilateral trading system, China is the great force defending the system. We appreciate that,” Shah said.

“Pakistan and other WTO members appreciate the leadership role played by China within the WTO.”

Shah said his country also appreciates China’s efforts in voluntarily and continually cutting tariffs since it joined the WTO in 2001.

Fredrik Erixon, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, said China, like other nations, is stepping up efforts to defend the open and rulesbased trading system against the attacks from the US administration.

“It’s impossible to say if President Trump will change his mind on trade conflicts and escalating tariff wars, but the only way to defend longterm Chinese economic interests is to advance its own economic reforms and provide leadership for other countries to do the same,” Erixon said. “More needs to be done.”