China and the WTO

This chapter examines the impact of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It considers the challenge of accommodating China in the future, given its continued economic dominance. It suggests that if the previous bargain made at the time of China’s WTO accession is no longer in equilibrium, then a new bargain may need to be struck, which would reflect China’s increased size. One way to keep China anchored in the multilateral system would be for its trading partners to embrace multilateralism. This would signal a belief in the intrinsic worth of multilateralism rather than just as an instrument to contain China.