A Normative Perspective on Legal Harmonization: China's Accession to the WTO

Abstract

In light of China's recent accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the author addresses the compatibility of Chinese legal structures with those of the international trading regime and the desirability of legal harmonization. He also examines the way in which Chinese thought can be used to provide new justifications for the normative underpinnings of the international trading system. The paper considers how an increasingly strong Chinese presence in international trade will affect the regime as a whole and the particular states that have traditionally provided the ideological framework within which the international trading system operates. The accession of China to the WTO has opened a two-way street along which influence will flow both from the WTO to China, but also from China towards the WTO and its members. As a result, it will become increasingly more important for the WTO to recognize the need for integrating the perspectives of traditionally under-represented states, individuals, groups, and concerns (environment, development, etc.) in a meaningful way into the international trade regime.

Keywords: China, Law, Rule of Law, World Trade Organization, WTO, WTO accession

JEL Classification: F10, F14, F15