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China ‘central’ to WTO reform, global trade chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says

  • Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala took over as the director general of the troubled World Trade Organization (WTO) in March
  • The Geneva-based body widely acknowledged to be in need of overhaul and reform and it has been operating without its Appellate Body since December 2019

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China jointed the WTO in December 2001, with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala acknowledging the “monumental moment that happened 20 years ago”. Photo: Reuters
Orange Wangin Boao, Hainan

World trade chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says she has been “heartened” by China’s commitment to revitalising the multilateral trading system, insisting the country is “central” to reform at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

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Former Nigerian finance minister Okonjo-Iweala took over as the director general of the troubled WTO in March, with the Geneva-based body widely acknowledged to be in need of an overhaul and reform.
The 164-member WTO has been operating without its Appellate Body, which arbitrates global trade disputes, since December 2019, while the long-standing complaint from the United States and Europe about subsidies enjoyed by Chinese state firms favoured by the government remains a major issue.
In 2001, China joined the WTO, and 20 years later, China has significantly transformed itself whilst the world has also changed
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

“Looking into the future, we need to strengthen the multilateral system with more effective global governance to support a strong, sustained, an inclusive global economic recovery,” she told the Boao Forum for Asia on Tuesday.

“A reinvigorated WTO would be an essential part of a strengthened multilateralism. It would enhance openness, transparency, global markets, and reinforce the certainty and predictability provided by the multilateral trading system.”

China joined the WTO in December 2001, with Okonjo-Iweala acknowledging the “monumental moment that happened 20 years ago”.

02:03

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes first African, first woman director general of WTO

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes first African, first woman director general of WTO

“In 2001, China joined the WTO, and 20 years later, China has significantly transformed itself whilst the world has also changed,” she added.

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