China faces ‘difficult trade-off’ as WTO leadership race heads into final round
- Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee are the final two candidates in the race to lead the World Trade Organization
- China thought to favour an African for the position, but trade experts in the mainland say Beijing ‘has concerns about both candidates’
The field of candidates to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO) was cut to two on Thursday, in a historic move that means the Geneva-based body will get its first female director general.
Should Okonjo-Iweala win, she would be the first African director general, while Yoo would be the second Asian, following Thailand’s Supachai Panitchpakdi who headed the organisation between 2002-05. Yoo is the third South Korean to run for the role.
The heavily-fancied Kenyan, Amina Mohamed, saw her bid scuppered when the European Union united as a block to back Okonjo-Iweala and Yoo, while her bid was also hampered by a split African vote. The six-nation East Africa Community supported Mohamed, with the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States backed Okonjo-Iweala, Bloomberg reported.
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Britain’s Liam Fox and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri were also eliminated before the final round.