WTO Hastened China’s Rise as a Global Economic Superpower: Bloomberg

China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 accelerated its rise as a global manufacturing and technology powerhouse, fueled export growth and helped stabilize global demand during the financial crisis, Enda Curran, Elizabeth Economy and Afsaneh Beschloss reported for Bloomberg News.

Washington had hoped WTO membership would entice Beijing to reform its economy, move away from central planning, and allow greater access for Western goods. (Photo: World Trade Organisation Flickr) 

As China expanded investments under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), advanced in electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, and entered a sharper economic rivalry with the United States, new vulnerabilities emerged, including a property-sector slowdown and widening domestic inequality.

China was allowed to industrialize rapidly, leveraging its low-wage economy to attract U.S. manufacturers eager to maximize profits as globalization surged.

Washington had hoped WTO membership would entice Beijing to reform its economy, move away from central planning, and allow greater access for Western goods.

Those goals were largely unmet. Beijing continued to favor state-owned enterprises, retained tight control over the private sector and imposed tariff and non-tariff barriers on foreign goods.

China also reverse-engineered key Western products and technologies, reducing its reliance on imports.

The result has been massive trade surpluses and the expansion of China’s export markets. Now the world’s second-largest economy, China is widely seen as poised to challenge the United States for global economic leadership.