European trade officials and CCG host close-door session

The World Trade Organization welcomed its new Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on March 1. The new director brings about the hope for promoting WTO reform further. As the world’s largest multilateral mechanism, the future of the WTO has an impact on each of its members, the world’s economy and the global governance.

China and the EU are two largest economies among WTO members and both of them support multilaterism and the WTO reform. What are their expectations with the new Director General took the office?

Officials of the European Commission and the European Delegation to China seeked China’s views on WTO refrom and the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, another practice of multilaterism, in a close-door session on April 13 afternoon.

Center for China and Globalization(CCG) and European officials co-hosted the session. Attendees included Ignacio Garcia Bercero, director for multilateral trade policy, strategy and policy analysis, Directorate-General for TRADE, European Commission, Thomas Langalaar, Counsellor of Trade of the European Delegation to China and Christoph Saurenbach, Counsellor of Trade of the European Delegation to China, as well as WANG Huiyao, CCG president, DING Chun, professor and director of Center for European Studies, Fudan University, LIU Ying, professor and Chief Expert of Project for Wuhan University Academy of International Law and Global Governance, LV Yue, professor of the School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, PENG Delei, associate professor and deputy director of the International Affairs Office, East China University of Science and Technology, David Blair, CCG vice president and senior economist, Mike Liu, CCG vice president and senior fellow, Mabel Lu MIAO, secretary general of CCG, Andy Mok, CCG senior fellow, Tatiana Prezeres, CCG non-resident senior fellow, Ann Tang, deputy secretary general of CCG. The session was presided by Victor Gao, CCG vice president and senior fellow.

Ignacio Garcia Bercero gave a speech and seeked questions at the session. He and CCG experts and Chinese scholars exchanged ideas on WTO reform advance and the ratification of CAI. CCG experts and Chinese scholars gave beneficial recommendations on the two issues.

Wang Huiyao pointed out that communication and mutual understanding are very important, and China and EU can promote cooperation when the two sides understand each other’s expectations better. Wang said that CCG would like to act as a bridge for China and the EU to gain deeper knowledge of bilateral demands so as to promote WTO reform and the ratification of the CAI.

Ignacio Garcia Bercero has rich experience in trade policy. He now acts as the EU Chief Negotiator for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. During the Uruguay Round of multilateral negotiations, he followed, inter alia, negotiations on trade safeguards, GATT articles, functioning of the GATT, as well as talks on trade and environment. In the period leading up to the launch of the WTO Doha Round, he served as coordinator of EU WTO policy and led  negotiations on trade and competition. He was also posted in the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York and worked in areas of WTO Dispute Settlement and Trade Barriers Regulation.

As China’s leading non-governmental think tank, CCG has always been committed to research in the fields of globalization, international relations, international trade and economy, and promoting multilateral cooperation. CCG has established a good communication and collaboration mechanism with embassies, international organizations, international think tanks and institutions, working as an important platform for Sino-foreign policy interaction.

This China-EU seminar was held on the occasion of the new WTO Director General taking office, providing a good platform for the two sides to communicate during the pandemic, exchange ideas, and clarify positions.