Position Paper: China

          With the developing countries and much of the global community still climbing out of recession, there is still a risk for plunging the global economy into a "double dip" recession. In attending this meeting, China hopes countries will recognize not only this risk but also the need for a gradual progression to instituting the WTO principles.

          China is still a developing economy. Keeping in mind that liberalizing our economy could lead to instability and retardation of growth, we urge the community gathered to carefully deliberate on the issues of liberalizing capital accounts and trade practices.  In working towards having a developed economy, a speedy and full liberalization of our capital account, removal of non-trade barriers, and elimination of some subsidies would hurt our progress.

          The global community must listen to the developing countries and be fair if we are to have a system of equal trade and investment. In East Asia and Southeast Asia, we are trying to encourage economic growth for over one third of the world's population. While the rest of the world is eager for our economies to grow so that we can all share in a higher level trade, investment, and prosperity, the developed countries must recognize the gradual process necessary to establishing parity for developing countries with advanced economies and ensuring stability before moving on to full liberalization.

          In dealing with the proposed topics, China hopes to keep in mind fairness, the interests of the developing countries, China's competitive advantages, and the aims of our domestic economic development.

For proposal I, this argument ties into the role of subsidies and so we must not forget that some countries would trade using unfair advantages. At the same time, China must take into account its developing economy and the hundreds of millions still in poverty and the many people that are unemployed.

For proposal II, as has been the case for some time, developed countries such as the United States and those in the European Union have engaged with China in anti-dumping disputes. The misunderstandings arise from a lack of communication about our strengths and weaknesses in producing certain goods. Hopefully, our community can come together to recognize our strengths and weaknesses and design our economies accordingly.

For proposal III, although there is not much interest in genetically modified foods, China does have a concern for the safety and well-being of countries around the globe and hopes for regulations to be instituted to guarantee the health and safety issues of GMO.

For proposal IV, as China is still a developing country and needs the appropriate levels of growth in all sectors of the economy, subsidies are a necessary tool for developing our economy. All countries around the world engage in subsidies, so we must work together to find solutions for lessening the reliance that developed and developing countries have on subsidies.

For proposal V, China still needs to stabilize and grow its economy. It was only twenty years ago that the Asian Crisis caused much suffering and inhibited China's economic growth. Recognizing the risks of instability  that free flows of capital could cause, China must remain wary about the full liberalization of the capital account.

For proposal VI, China is well on the way to promoting free trade in the global community. We certainly hope that other countries will join in developing the world economy and opening up to trade.

Sources:
IMF Report on Capital Flows: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2012/wp12275.pdf