China

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT contracting parties in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.

The nature of technology used in products plays a major role in determining the governance structure of value chains and the benefits of participation for developing countries. Standardization through breaking production into modules with a high degree of functional autonomy (limited mutual interference between modules) can dramatically reduce the amount of research and development (R&D), learning by doing, and the number of complementary skills needed to produce a good. This greatly increases opportunities for developing country firms to participate in formerly capital-intensive industries through reducing entry costs into global value chains. However, widespread access to standardized products with little ability to modify technical features can lead to an excessive supply of homogeneous products in a local market, resulting in intense price competition and limited technology transfer. By contrast, technology that facilitates scope for product modification and greater interaction with technology owners can help boost technology transfer and product upgrading by developing country firms. The chapter illustrates this interaction between changes in technology and opportunities for developing countries through developments in the automotive and mobile phone handset industries, with a particular reference to China’s growth experience. It also finds that automation is likely to have only a limited impact on developing countries’ opportunities to participate in value chains through the offshoring of production by high-income countries, at least in the short term.

This Trade Policy Review has been a very useful opportunity for Members to understand the economic, trade, and investment policies of the United States. I would like to thank the delegation led by Ambassador Michael Punke, our discussant, Ambassador Daniel Blockert, and the more than 60 delegations that had either taken the floor or had shared their written statements with us, for their valuable contributions.

La valeur en dollars des transactions électroniques effectuées en Chine a considérablement augmenté au cours des 20 dernières années, notamment grâce à l’amélioration des infrastructures, à la croissance rapide de la téléphonie mobile et à l’accroissement des financements. Le marché se caractérise également par une diversité croissante, notamment à la lumière de l’accroissement des services médicaux électroniques, de l’expansion du commerce électronique transfrontières et du développement des transactions en ligne à hors ligne. Le gouvernement national de la Chine a joué un rôle important dans le développement du commerce électronique grâce à l’élaboration de politiques dans le cadre de plans quinquennaux, tandis que les gouvernements régionaux ont quant à eux participé à la planification et à l’ajustement du cadre de la politique relative au commerce électronique en fonction de la situation locale.

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT contracting parties in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT CONTRACTING PARTIES in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.

China achieved a great leap forward in its economic development in the last thirty years, supported by profound trade policy reforms, significant infrastructure investment and utilization of foreign capital, under the overarching state policy of reform and opening-up. Shares of manufactures and services in production have kept increasing, and remarkable export performance has been scored during this period. Additions of labour and capital, as well as competitive costs have largely shaped the economy’s comparative advantages up to now, and they are likely to be replaced by increasing domestic consumption, productivity growth and a greater reliance on services as the main factors sustaining future economic growth, albeit at a slower pace. Nonetheless, opening-up and domestic policy reforms, going hand-in-hand, will continue to play a critical role. The question that this paper addresses from China’s perspective may serve as a reference for the African economies seeking to establish a strong manufacturing base, and to realise economic take-off with the help of a clear opening-up strategy and a proper trade policy toolkit.

Since the last trade policy review in 2010, in the face of the complex and volatile external environment and new circumstances and developments in economic situations at home, the Chinese Government, centered on the goal of maintaining strong, sustainable and balanced growth, has accelerated the transformation of economic development pattern, stepped up efforts to expand domestic demand, promoted structural adjustment, and continued deepening the reform and expanding opening up. The national economy continued to develop at a rapid yet steady pace, making important contributions to the world economic recovery and development.