S: Hi everyone. Welcome to CBN Friday Special, I’m Stephanie LI.
R: And I’m ZHANG Ran. In today's special program, we will be looking back at China's 20 years in the World Trade Organization. Two decades ago, the WTO Ministerial Conference formally approved an agreement on the terms of accession for the People's Republic of China, and China became the organisation’s 143rd member. Now that 20 years have passed, we have witnessed tremendous changes in the country.
S: Yes. As a WTO member, China fulfilled all its WTO accession commitments by 2010, and has also exceeded these goals by a mile. Over the past 20 years, China's average annual contribution to global economic growth has been nearly 30 percent. The total level of tariffs has fallen sharply from 15.3 percent to less than 7.5 percent, which is far below the 9.8 percent promised on WTO accession, and even lower than other major emerging economies.
R: Speaking of tariffs, what impressed me the most is that China has committed to zero-tariff treatment for 97 percent of least developed countries' (LDCs) exports. That is a commitment not even made by the US. Since 2008, China has become a major export destination for LDCs, absorbing 25 percent of LDC exports.
And China did not stop there. The Ministry of Finance has just announced this week that China will reduce or cancel tariffs on 954 kinds of goods starting in 2022, including medicine, food products, winter sports equipment and automobile components, in a bid to support the new development pattern and promote high-quality opening.
S: Right. China’s exports of goods have increased by more than seven times, and its imports have increased six times. China's foreign trade import volume accounts for 12 percent of global trade in 2020, and it is the largest trading partner of more than 120 countries.
In the past two years, when COVID-19 clouds loomed large over the global economy and growth plunged across the world, China has been the sole exception. China's total trade grew by 1.9 percent year-on-year in 2020, and became the main engine that drove global economic recovery.
R: And China have opened its service sectors to the world. Over the past 15 years, China's total services exports have doubled from 3 percent to 6 percent. Imports of services have grown even more rapidly, from 3.3 percent to 8 percent of the world's total. This is also a significant contribution of China to the world economy. I think these numbers have shown that China's WTO accession is a win-win outcome for the entire world.
S: Living in China, I can feel these changes too. Since the accession to the WTO, living standards of the Chinese people have been largely improved, and our access to goods and services has expanded. For example, buying imported fruits or meat in the supermarkets with reasonable prices is just everyday life now. And consumer goods outside of the country are easily accessible in China now, instead of asking your relative or friend who’s coming back from abroad to bring them for you. That has faded away as time went on.
R: I agree. In terms of China joining the WTO, the enormous amount of opportunities in development has been provided that form the so-called "Chinese Miracle" of the past 20 years. And China's actions have been acknowledged by several directors-general of the WTO and most of the organization's members. For example, Pascal Lamy, a former WTO director-general, said China has delivered an "A-plus performance" since its WTO accession. WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell said in a recent interview that China is a prominent and active member of the global trade body and has participated in "all elements of our work with enthusiasm and commitment."
S: Although China successfully made it through the past two decades, the road ahead, however, has the potential to be bumpy as well. Rising de-globalization, the persistent pandemic and looming climate change all pose challenges that have put the world at a pivotal point.
But China's commitment to the trade body is as consistent and clear as 20 years ago. China's 20 years of achievement and contribution since it joined the WTO have been tangible and remarkable, and it will continue to uphold the multilateral trading system, even as protectionism and unilateralism rise across the globe.
龙腾入世20年。
今年是中国加入世界贸易组织（WTO）20周年。2001年随着会议主席卡迈勒手中“入世槌”落下，世贸组织第四届部长级会议通过中国加入世界贸易组织（WTO）的决定。12月11日，中国正式加入WTO，成为其第143个成员。20年来，中国全面履行入世承诺，不断扩大开放，以自身稳健发展成为世界经济增长的“动力源”和“稳定器”。
2010年，中国履行了加入世贸组织的所有承诺，而且做到的远比承诺的多。过去20年，中国对世界经济增长的平均贡献率超过30%，关税总水平从入世前的15.3%大幅下降到7.5以下，低于9.8%的入世承诺，国内市场的竞争水平大大提高。
据WTO统计数据显示，过去20年间，世界货物贸易总额翻了近一番。其中，中国货物出口增长7倍之多，货物进口总额增长近6倍。2020年，中国进口总额占世界货物贸易进口总额的12%。
受新冠疫情影响，全球经济在2020年按下暂停键，经济一度陷入封闭与停摆。而中国得益于全民防疫，成为最早启动疫后复工复产的国家。2020年，中国成为全球唯一实现经济正增长的主要经济体。
与此同时，中国承诺对最不发达国家97%的出口产品实行零关税待遇。2008年以来，中国一直是最不发达国家的主要出口目的地，吸收了最不发达国家25%的出口。此外，国务院关税税则委员会日前印发通知，2022年将调整部分商品的进出口关税。自1月1日起，对954项商品实施低于最惠国税率的进口暂定税率，新型抗癌药氯化镭注射液、颅内取栓支架、部分优质水产品、婴儿服装等关乎百姓生活的商品均在其中。
在服务贸易方面，中国服务贸易出口占世界服务贸易出口总额的比例从2005年的3%增加至2020年的6%，服务贸易进口占世界服务贸易进口总额的比例从2005年的3.3%增加至2020年的8%。
R: Right. On a different note, the Chinese mainland reported 56 new local COVID-19 cases yesterday, including 44 from Zhejiang province.
全国昨日新增本土确诊56例（浙江44例，其阿红绍兴市40例、杭州市2例、宁波市2例；陕西5例，其中西安市4例、延安市1例；内蒙古4例，均在呼伦贝尔市；广东2例，其中广州市1例、东莞市1例；四川1例，在成都市）。
S: Before we end today’s program, let’s take a quick look at the stock markets. Chinese stocks closed lower on Friday with stocks of semiconductor recorded big losses over new sanctions by the Biden Administration. The Shanghai Composite lost 1.16 percent, and the Shenzhen Component came down 1.62 percent. The Hang Seng Index shed 1.2 percent, dragged by a 2.43-percent loss in TECH Index.
周五A股集体低开，沪指跌1.16%，深成指跌1.62%，半导体板块领跌。港股恒生指数收跌1.2%，互联网科技股下挫，恒生科技指数跌2.43%盘中再刷历史新低。
