WTO head lauds China’s role in global trade

World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General, Roberto Azevedo has delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the inaugural China International Import Expo underway in Shanghai. He spoke highly of China's efforts and participation in global trade. 

"The country is now increasingly active in the WTO in many ways, including helping other developing countries and least developed countries to join and benefit from the trading through a number of support programs in the WTO. And this commitment and engagement is very welcome," he said.  

The following is the full text of his speech:

Mr. President, his Excellences, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm honored to be with you here today and to help launch the China International Import Expo.

And at the outset, I would like to thank President Xi for his leadership in organizing this event, and more broadly for his vocal support of multilateral institutions and their importance in the global economy. This first China International Import Expo sends a clear message about China's growing role in global trade.

And this is particularly notable as we mark the 40th anniversary of China's first steps on the journey to reform and opening up. And that journey led China to become a member of the WTO and to China's strong commitment to our work. Today. The country is now increasingly active in the WTO in many ways, including helping other developing and least developed countries to join and benefit from the trading system through a number of support programs in the WTO. And this commitment and engagement is very welcome.

And I think the Expo also sends another very important and welcome message, and that is about the importance of imports.

It reminds us of the essential truth that trade is not a zero sum game, where exports are good and imports are bad. In fact, imports mean greater choice for consumers at lower prices. They mean you can focus on producing those goods where you have a competitive advantage and they mean having a more competitive and more efficient economy. And increasingly imports mean inputs for your own products which will themselves then be exported. This is the reality of global trade. Today, around two thirds of all exports around the world contain imported components.

And it is precisely this greater openness and economic integration, which has helped to fuel growth, job creation, and development in the modern world. It has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and created prosperity for many more. And continuing this process is in everyone's interest. This is why the World Trade Organization is so important. The organization provides the framework of rules and practices that are underpinning ninety eight percent of global trade today. It provides the very foundations on which greater economic openness and integration are built.

We must work together now to strengthen those foundations, and this means working to fight protectionism and to ease the tensions that we're seeing in global trade relations. And it means ensuring that the trading system is ready to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, including responding to the fourth industrial revolution. And I look forward to China's continued support in those efforts. In your continued support and commitment to trade liberalization and the multilateral trading system. Working together, we can ensure that we play a full part in creating global prosperity and the brighter economic future that we all want to see.

Thank you.