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China economy
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China to ‘shift into hi-tech services gear’ over next 2 decades in WTO

  • Digital technology heralds greatest potential for rapid growth, Chinese vice commerce minister says
  • But dangers lurk in trade protectionism and resistance to economic globalisation, he warns

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For the first 20 years of its membership of the WTO, China focused on traditional manufacturing. Photo: AFP
Su-Lin Tan
The focus of China’s WTO membership will shift to the trade in hi-tech services over the next two decades, moving from the traditional manufacturing that made China the “factory of the world”, according to one of the negotiators of the country’s accession.
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In the countdown to the 20th anniversary of China’s entry to the World Trade Organization in December, Chinese vice commerce minister Yi Xiaozhun told an economic forum in Beijing on Saturday that the country’s services sector had evolved from being its “weakest link” in 2001 into a springboard for development over the next 20 years.

“In the past two decades, China has taken advantage of its accession to the WTO and decisively opened up its market while actively integrating into global supply chains,” Yi, former WTO deputy director general, said in his keynote speech to the China Inbound-Outbound Forum.

“It rode the wave of economic globalisation, and achieved excellent development results.

“Many people are asking if China still has opportunities for rapid development in the next two decades? My answer is yes. With widespread application of digital technology, the development of global services trade has accelerated significantly, much faster than that of goods trade.”

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He said the potential existed despite the return of global trade protectionism and the resistance to economic globalisation, especially in manufacturing.

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