The WTO Side Event on China's Trade Policy Review was held in Geneva, Switzerland on July 16, 2024. This side event, themed "Understanding China's Economic and Trade Policies from the Perspective of Central and Local Governments," aims to help WTO members gain a deeper and more accurate understanding of China's economic and trade policies.

Our School's director of the Institute for the U.S. and Canadian Economies of Wuhan University, Professor Yu Zhen, attended the side event as a special guest expert. The meeting also included experts from the China Academy of Macroeconomic Research, the University of International Business and Economics, and Southwest University of Political Science and Law, as well as representatives of Singaporean foreign-funded enterprises in China. In addition, over a hundred participants from the WTO Secretariat, WTO member states, international organizations, and the media were present.

Professor Yu Zhen reported on the progress of China's pilot program for expanding the opening up of the service sector. With the theme of "Wuhan's open road", he discussed the opening ideas and construction achievements of China's inland cities from a micro to macro perspective. In January 2023, Wuhan was approved as the third batch of comprehensive pilot cities for the expansion and opening up of the service sector by the State Council, focusing on promoting 9 key areas such as education, finance, healthcare, and has nine priority fields to ensure the orderly implementation of pilot tasks. Professor Yu  shared with the attendees several typical cases of Wuhan's opening up to the outside world, including the China-Europe Railway Express (Wuhan), smart vehicles, and carbon finance.

This side event is the first time organized by China ahead of a trade policy review. Chinese Ambassador to the WTO, Li Chenggang, stated that China's hosting of a side event before the review is a concrete initiative to practice the WTO reform aimed at strengthening the trade policy review mechanism. The Director of the Trade Policy Review Division of the WTO Secretariat, Alexander Keck, highly praised China's proactive and open approach during the preparation for this trade policy review and fully acknowledged the role of the side event in helping WTO members gain a deeper understanding of China's economic and trade policies and in building trust and clarifying doubts.

Trade policy review is one of the three major functions of the WTO, alongside rule negotiation and dispute settlement. It is an important means for the WTO to supervise trade policies and enhance policy transparency among its members, as well as a platform for enhancing understanding and building trust. Through this meeting, China has provided an effective path for the world to better understand its practices in further expanding openness, showcasing the precise progress of reform and opening up from the capital to various cities. China has contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions to world development.

(Correspondent: Wang Junyi, Reviewed by: Huang Minxue)