China's entry into the WTO has been beneficial to both the WTO and China in the past 10 years, former EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said recently.
"As an important institution of global governance and international trading system, the WTO has been strengthened by China's membership," Mandelson said.
It was "through the way China has respected and participated in its dispute resolution machinery, the way China has engaged in the WTO multilateral trade negotiations and the way China has brought strength to the day-to-day running of the WTO," he added.
On the other hand, Mandelson emphasized the WTO membership has also stimulated progress and reform in China itself since China's entry in 2001.
"All sorts of fear were expressed at the beginning about the impact on China's agriculture or its industrial sector. Those fears have not been realized but instead you have had a stimulus of reform and change within China's economy. And it's been a progressive and beneficial one," Mandelson said, on retrospect of the history of China's WTO membership.
He underscored one of the main benefits for China was laid in Chinese enterprises, especially those state-owned ones, which have become more efficient and competitive because China's entry into the WTO has exposed them to international competition.
"Under the schemes of WTO, China made tariff reduction to international producers, which, on having more access to China's markets, provided a stimulus in competition within those markets for Chinese enterprises," Mandelson said.
He believed China should embrace more competition in its domestic market, which will "lead to a more efficient allocation of capital" and "be healthy to China's long-term growth."
On the issue of recognizing China's market economy status, Mandelson said Europe should not take a "dogmatic" or "stubborn" attitude, while China needs to make further changes to deserve this recognition.
"I hope they can make progress on that issue. But if they don't, China will still get that status in any case. I think it's better to find a way to agree it earlier," Mandelson said.
Mandelson welcomed China's consideration of investing in Britain's infrastructure projects, which have been outlined by the coalition government in order to boost the country's stagnating economy.（Source: Xinhua）