China Drops WTO Developing-Nation Status to Boost Global Trade
The U.S. has long argued that China should give up its developing-country status because it is the world’s second-largest economy.
Quick overview
- China will no longer seek special treatment as a developing country under WTO agreements, a change long advocated by the United States.
- The decision aims to strengthen the global trading system amid rising tariff threats and protectionist measures.
- Chinese officials emphasized that while they are giving up this status, they still view China as part of the developing world.
- The head of the WTO described China's decision as significant for reforming the organization and acknowledged the efforts behind it.
Officials said the move is an attempt to strengthen the global trading system at a time of tariff threats. The decision had long been demanded by the United States.
China announced on Wednesday that it will no longer seek the special treatment granted to developing countries under World Trade Organization agreements — a change Washington had pushed for over many years.
Officials at the Ministry of Commerce told AP the measure aims to reinforce the global trading system at a moment of growing tariff wars and protectionist moves by individual countries to restrict imports.
They did not mention the United States or the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed this year on many countries, including China.
The U.S. has long argued that China should give up its developing-country status because it is the world’s second-largest economy.
The advantages of that designation include lighter requirements for opening markets to imports and longer transition periods for implementing market-opening reforms.
The Lont-Term Strategy of China
The WTO provides a forum for global trade talks and enforces agreements, but it has grown less effective in recent years, prompting calls for reform.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the Geneva-based organization, described China’s decision as “a key piece of news for WTO reform” and thanked the country’s leadership in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“This is the culmination of many years of hard work,” she said, congratulating China’s leadership for reaching this milestone. Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced the change in a speech in New York on Tuesday at a development forum during the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting.
China remains a middle-income country, and Commerce Ministry officials stressed that it still considers itself part of the developing world.
Even so, it has increasingly become a source of loans and technical assistance for other countries seeking to build roads, railways, dams, and other major projects — often carried out by large Chinese state-owned enterprises.
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