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作者罗思义（John Ross）系英国伦敦前经济与商业政策署署长、中国人民大学重阳金融研究院高级研究员，本文刊于7月4日中国网。
中文版
遵循世贸组织规则是包括中国在内的所有国家寻求发展和繁荣的关键。经济全球化帮助发展中国家十亿以上的人口摆脱贫困，国际贸易则强力支撑着发达国家人民的生活水平日益提高。
西方著名的咨询公司牛津经济研究院近期的一份报告显示，购买进口自中国的产品每年可为每个美国家庭节省约850美元。针对美国政府近期威胁将向欧盟以及中国、印度、加拿大、墨西哥等国加征关税之举，中国国务院新闻办公室发布的《中国与世界贸易组织》白皮书可谓恰逢其时。中国2001年加入世贸组织以来国际贸易的进展充分证实了白皮书的精准结论。
《中国与世界贸易组织》白皮书
在分析世贸组织时，白皮书指出：“以世贸组织为核心的多边贸易体制是国际贸易的基石，是全球贸易健康有序发展的支柱。”
在谈到中国的立场时，白皮书指出：“中国积极践行自由贸易理念。”维护世贸规则的权威性不仅符合其他国家的利益，也符合中国的自身利益，因此，中国“全面参与世贸组织工作，为共同完善全球经济治理发出中国声音、提出中国方案，是多边贸易体制的积极参与者、坚定维护者和重要贡献者。中国加入世贸组织既发展了自己，也造福了世界。”
白皮书详细阐述了中国为维护和加强世贸组织的权威性所做的努力，它指出，“加入世贸组织后，大规模开展法律法规清理修订工作，中央政府清理法律法规和部门规章2300多件，地方政府清理地方性政策法规19万多件，覆盖贸易、投资和知识产权保护等各个方面。2014年，制订进一步加强贸易政策合规工作的政策文件，要求各级政府在拟定贸易政策的过程中，对照世贸组织协定及中国加入承诺进行合规性评估。”
事实胜于雄辩。鉴于各国对中国的进口现状都很关注，白皮书列举大量数据进行了详细阐述。“大幅降低进口关税。减少进口成本，促进贸易发展，让世界各国更多分享中国经济增长、消费繁荣带来的红利。截至2010年，中国货物降税承诺全部履行完毕，关税总水平由2001年的15.3％降至9.8％。其中，工业品平均税率由14.8％降至8.9％；农产品平均税率由23.2％降至15.2％，约为世界农产品平均关税水平的四分之一，远低于发展中成员56％和发达成员39％的平均关税水平。农产品的最高约束关税为65％，而美国、欧盟、日本分别为440％、408％、1706％。”
白皮书指出：“根据世贸组织统计，2015年中国的贸易加权平均关税已降至4.4％，与美国、欧盟等发达经济体相差1.5－2个百分点。截至2017年底，已调减900多个税目产品的税率。”
正因为此，中国成为了全世界增长最快的进口国。报告指出：“2001－2017年，中国货物贸易进口额年均增长13.5％，高出全球平均水平6.9个百分点，已成为全球第二大进口国。自2009年以来，中国一直是最不发达国家第一大出口市场，吸收了最不发达国家五分之一的出口。”
实际效果十分明显。中国于2001加入世贸组织，中国大陆在世界贸易中的份额从2000年的4.8％上升到2017年的11.5％，仅中国的进口商品，同期增长2万亿美元，而美国的增长仅为0.7万亿美元。
中国的进口增长超过美国的2.5倍之多，与此同时也远远超过任何其他国家。尽管整个欧盟的进口增长（3.4万亿美元）超过了中国，但很大一部分仅限于欧盟内部之间的贸易。
中国尊重世贸组织的决定和多边框架。白皮书指出，中国在世贸组织“被诉案件27项，已结案23项….中国积极应对被诉案件，尊重并认真执行世贸组织裁决，作出了符合世贸规则的调整，无一例被申请复议。”
同时，中国积极吸引外商来华投资。白皮书指出：“中国积极吸引外国机构和个人来华投资兴业，外商直接投资规模从1992年起连续26年居发展中国家首位。加入世贸组织后，外商直接投资规模从2001年的468.8亿美元增加到2017年的1363.2亿美元，年均增长6.9％。
毫无疑问，维护世贸规则的权威性不仅符合其他国家的利益，也符合中国的自身利益；维护自身利益永远是各国行动的最佳指南，也包括中国在内。
顾名思义，国际贸易涉及一个以上的国家。如果允许一个国家制定规则的话，那么它必然会以一种有益于本国而非他国的方式来制定规则。
相互协商的原则引导了国际贸易体系的良性发展，而世贸组织的成立更是遵循了这一原则。事实证明，世贸组织的成立是多方共同努力的结果，世界贸易组织的前身是关税与贸易总协定，这期间的替换共经历46年7轮协商。2012年俄罗斯正式加入世界贸易组织，目前世贸组织共拥有164个成员，涵盖了世界上所有庞大的经济体。
世贸组织签署60多项各类多边贸易协议，其现任总干事来自巴西，副总干事分别来自德国、中国和尼日利亚，世贸组织的领导层代表了世界上最重要的贸易国或贸易集团。
在这个真正意义的国际框架下，世贸组织的争端解决机制目前在国际上最具公正合理性，远远优于任何个别国家单方面决定的机制。
总而言之，维护世贸组织的权威性、遵守世贸组织规则符合中国以及所有国家的利益。对于那些想进一步了解中国是如何做到这一点的人来说，《中国与世界贸易组织》这份白皮书为他们提供了充足的信息。
英文版
John Ross: Data shows China`s strong support for the WTO
Maintaining the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is a key issue for the prosperity of every country – including China. In developing countries well over a billion people have been lifted out of poverty by economic growth underpinned by globalization, while international trade strongly supports the living standard of advanced countries.
A recent report by the highly-respected Western analytical company Oxford Economics concluded that the average U.S. family saved US$850 a year due to low priced imports from China. Given threats to the framework of the WTO by recent unfortunate tariff actions by the U.S. administration against the EU, China, India, Canada, Mexico and other countries, the publication by China`s State Council Information Office of the report "China and the World Trade Organization" is therefore extremely timely. The facts of international trade since China joined the WTO in 2001 strongly confirm the reports conclusions.
The report is unequivocal regarding its analysis of the WTO: "The multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, is the cornerstone of international trade and underpins the sound and orderly development of global trade."
Regarding its own position, the report notes: "China has been a strong advocate for free trade." As it is not only in the interests of other countries, but also in China`s direct self-interest to strongly uphold the rules and framework of the WTO, therefore: "China has participated in all aspects of WTO work, made its voice heard and contributed its own proposals on improving global economic governance. China is an active participant, strong supporter and major contributor in the multilateral trade system. Accession to the WTO has boosted China`s development and benefited the rest of the world."
The paper details the great and ongoing efforts made by China to reinforce and remain in line with the WTO: "After its accession, China launched major efforts to review and revise relevant laws and regulations, involving 2,300 laws, regulations and departmental rules at central government level, and 190,000 policies and regulations at sub-central government levels, covering trade, investment, IPR protection, etc. In 2014, China issued an official document on furthering trade policy compliance with WTO rules, requiring government at all levels to assess proposed trade policies in accordance with WTO agreements and China`s commitments."
Actions always speak louder than words, so China`s record on imports, the most sensitive trade issue for most countries, indicates the practical situation. "By reducing import costs to boost trade, China has shared its development dividend and growing markets with the rest of the world. By 2010, China had fulfilled all of its tariff reduction commitments, reducing the average tariff level from 15.3 percent in 2001 to 9.8 percent. It lowered the average tariff rate of manufactured goods from 14.8 to 8.9 percent. It cut the average tariff rate of agricultural products from 23.2 to 15.2 percent, about one fourth of the global average and far lower than those imposed by the WTO`s developing members (56 percent) and developed members (39 percent). China`s maximum bound tariff rate of agricultural products is 65 percent, while the corresponding rates of the United States, the European Union and Japan are 440, 408 and 1,706 percent respectively."
Overall: "According to the WTO, China`s trade-weighted average import tariff rate had fallen to 4.4 percent in 2015, only 1.5 to 2 percentage points higher than those of developed economies such as the U.S. and the EU. By the end of 2017, China had reduced tariffs on more than 900 tariff lines."
The result has been that China has become by far the world`s most rapidly growing national import market. The report notes: "From 2001 to 2017, China`s imports increased by an annual average of 13.5 percent, 6.9 percentage points higher than the global average; and China has become the world`s second largest importer. Since 2009, China has been the largest export market for the LDCs [Least Developed Countries] and absorbed 20 percent of their exports."
The practical effects are clear. China joined the WTO in 2001. The Chinese mainland`s share of world trade has risen from 4.8 percent in 2000 to 11.5 percent in 2017. Taking only China`s goods imports, which rose in the same period by US$2.0 trillion compared to an increase of US$0.7 trillion for the U.S.
With China`s imports rising by more than two and a half times as much as the U.S., China`s growth in imports is far exceeding any other country. Only the entire EU`s increase in imports, at US$3.4 trillion, exceeded China – and a large part of that was trade within the EU.
China has also respected the decisions and multinational framework of the WTO: "China had been complained against in 27 disputes, of which 23 had been concluded…. China also actively defended the cases against it, respected the WTO rulings, and made adjustments to its measures according to WTO rules." It is particularly striking that: "Up to now, none of the complainants has requested for retaliation against China."
China has also opened itself up to inward investment. As the report notes: "Since 1992, China has consistently topped the list of FDI recipients among developing countries for 26 years consecutively. After China`s accession to the WTO, its FDI increased from US$46.88 billion in 2001 to US$136.32 billion in 2017, up by an annual average of 6.9 percent."
It is clear why maintenance of the WTO framework is in the interests not only of other countries but of China itself – and clearly understood self-interest is always the best guide to every country`s actions including China.
International trade, by definition, involves more than one country. If one country were allowed to set the rules it would inevitably make these in a way which benefited itself and not others.
The principle of mutual agreement therefore guided the enormously beneficial development of the international trade system which culminated in the creation of the WTO. The huge effort necessary to create the WTO was shown by the fact that it took 46 years to bring it into existence through seven rounds of negotiations in the previous General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). With 164 members, the WTO, since the accession of Russia in 2012, includes all the world`s largest trading economies.
The WTO directly incorporates approximately 60 different agreements with international legal status. With a Brazilian Director General, and Deputy Director Generals from Germany, China, the U.S. and Nigeria, the leadership of the WTO is representative of the most important world trading countries or trading groups.
With this truly international framework the disputes settlement mechanism by the WTO is most internationally impartial that can be achieved at present – and far superior to any system of unilateral decisions by individual countries.
In summary, it is in the interests of China and of every country to uphold the WTO and its principles. For those who need further details of how China does this, the report "China and the World Trade Organization" amply supplies them.
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