The impact of China's WTO accession on her foreign trade-related laws : a critical appraisal

Abstract

China was admitted to the WTO after 15 years of difficult negotiation in December 2001. China committed to undertake a series of accession commitments and to open and liberalise her domestic market as required by the Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China to the WTO and the core WTO agreements, namely, General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT); General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This dissertation explores why China decided to rejoin the WTO, despite what appeared to be very onerous accession commitments, and how she went about effecting changes to her trade-related laws to fit in with the requirements of the WTO laws. It argues that China's WTO admission has been beneficial for her and that her trade liberalisation has benefited both herself and the other WTO members.

Date of Award	2009
Original language	English