Chat Lounge

Developing countries are facing a difficult time in defending their interests within the WTO as the trade body has been crippled by the US for years. With China having become a major player in global trade since its WTO accession, can it lead developing-country members to safeguard their own interests as the WTO carries out reforms? For answers to this and other questions, join host Tu Yun and Rodrigo Zeidan, Associate Professor of Practice of Business and Finance, New York University Shanghai, in this episode of our special series on the 20th anniversary of China’s WTO accession.

Bilateral negotiations between China and the then WTO member countries were preparatory steps for China’s accession to the WTO 20 years ago. Talks with the Americans were arguably the most difficult. How receptive were American officials and business community toward the prospect of China joining the WTO back then? Reflecting on the past 20 years, what should we make of some American politicians’ statement that China benefitted more than America from their trading with each other? Our host Liu Kun is joined by He Weiwen, former economic and commercial counselor in China's Consulate General in San Francisco and New York. He was among those who laid the groundwork for China-U.S. bilateral negotiations at the time.

As China marks the 20th anniversary of its WTO membership, the trade body has been undergoing paralyzing pains for almost two years. The United States has been blocking member appointments to the Appellate Body, which is considered the “crown jewel” of the international trading system. If Washington has no intention to change its behavior, does that mean the organization would become irrelevant forever? As a major trading nation, how can China help revive the organization? And how likely is it for the temporary MPIA, or multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement mechanism established by the EU, China and other members, to become a permanent solution? In this episode of our special series on the 20th anniversary of China’s WTO accession, join host Tu Yun and Pascal Lamy, former director-general of the WTO, for a closer look at these issues.

China is Brazil’s largest trading partner and Brazil is China’s largest trading partner in the Latin American region. How has trade between the two, both belonging to the community of developing economies and emerging markets, contributed to world economic growth, ever since China joined the WTO in 2001? What are some valuable experiences and lessons in the China-Brazil collaboration in terms of improving global governance?

In this episode of our special series on China’s WTO accession, our host Liu Kun talks to Paulo Estivallet de Mesquita, Brazil’s Ambassador to China. He was involved with Brazil-China bilateral negotiations during China’s accession to the WTO 20 years ago. From 2003 to 2011, he served as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the WTO and other international organizations in Geneva.

China’s been the biggest trading nation in goods for years, achieving a great leap forward over the 20 years after it hopped on board the ship of the World Trade Organization. When looked back, what’s the most memorable moment of the negotiations on the country’s WTO accession? Was joining the trade body the only option for China at that time? How has China’s entry contributed to global growth? And what can China do to help facilitate the reform of the embattled organization? In this episode of our special series on the 20th anniversary of China's WTO, join host Tu Yun and Zhou Xiaoming, former deputy representative of the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, for a chat of these issues with personal experience.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. How have these past two decades changed American companies that looked to expand their presence in China? What’s the solution for the current tension between China and the U.S., the world’s two largest economies? Has trade helped with understandings between American and Chinese people?

 

Our host Liu Kun is joined by Ker Gibbs, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, for a closer look at these issues. Mr. Gibbs’ career has spanned Asia and Silicon Valley, with executive positions at Apple, Disney, and other technology and media firms. He first came to China as a student in 1985 and has been living in Shanghai since the early 2000s.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. What is the secret behind China’s role change from a latecomer to a major player in global trade? How should China deal with the controversies it’s involved in? And what role could China play in the WTO’s future? Join host Tu Yun and Adam Dunnett, Secretary General of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, an organization set up ahead of China’s WTO accession, for a closer look at these issues. Mr. Dunnett has been living in China for more than 20 years, witnessing the final stretch of the country’s campaign for WTO membership, as well as its navigation on the international market over the past two decades.

Bilateral negotiations between China and the then WTO member countries were preparatory steps for China’s accession to the WTO 20 years ago. Talks with the Americans were arguably the most difficult. How receptive were American officials and business community toward the prospect of China joining the WTO back then? Reflecting on the past 20 years, what should we make of some American politicians’ statement that China benefitted more than America from their trading with each other?

 

Our host Liu Kun is joined by He Weiwen, former economic and commercial counselor in China's Consulate General in San Francisco and New York.  He was among those who laid the groundwork for China-U.S. bilateral negotiations at the time.

China has been committed to developing a whole-process people’s democracy, which sounds not so familiar to many people who regard the country as an authoritarian state. How’s China’s whole-process people’s democracy different from Western-style democracy?  What would be the biggest challenge for China in developing whole-process people’s democracy? And what can the two modes of democracy learn from each other? Join host Tu Yun, writer and columnist Einar Tangen and Xu Qinduo, Senior Fellow of the Pangoal Institution for a discussion of these issues.

Since one of the aims of the China International Import Expo is to share the vast market opportunities in China with the rest of the world, especially developing and least developed nations, what have business people from those countries achieved at this year's CIIE? And in what ways has the event reshaped Shanghai and China in general?

Join host Tu Yun and Rodrigo Zeidan, Associate Professor of Practice of Business and Finance from New York University Shanghai, as well as Xu Qinduo, Senior Fellow of the Beijing-based think-tank Pangoal Institution for a discussion at the Chat Lounge, where we talk about hot issues in a more laidback manner.