Should-Read: Mark Wu: The ‘China, Inc.’ Challenge to Global Trade Governance

Should-Read: Mark Wu: The ‘China, Inc.’ Challenge to Global Trade Governance: “The rise of China presents a major challenge to the multilateral trade regime…

…At the heart of this challenge is the fact that China’s economic structure is sui generis — having evolved in a manner largely unforeseen by those negotiating WTO treaty law…. The WTO is equipped to deal effectively with only a limited range of disputes — those in which Chinese policies largely resemble elements of other alternative economic structures. Outside of this set of issues, the WTO faces two very different but equally serious challenges. The first is reinterpreting certain legal concepts to adapt and fit an unforeseen Chinese context. The second is deciding whether to expand the scope of its legal rules to accommodate issues that currently fall outside its jurisdiction…. The most likely outcome is one in which China’s rise will exacerbate the diminishing centrality of WTO law for global trade governance.