Former China Negotiator Says Importance of WTO Is Declining

GENEVA—The World Trade Organization’s importance to China is decreasing as a consequence of the stalled Doha Round of trade talks and the exponential growth of bilateral and regional free trade agreements, a former senior Chinese trade official said Nov. 10.

Speaking at a seminar at the WTO, marking the tenth anniversary of China’s accession to the organization, Long Yongtu, Beijing’s chief negotiator in the WTO membership negotiations, said that after a decade, “the WTO’s impact and influence in China is declining.”

One reason is the deadlocked Doha Round of trade talks, launched at the same time that China completed its ...