WTO chief expects China to play bigger role in global trade
Source:peopledaily 2013-7-1 8:29:00
"During the last 10 years, China has become a major player in international tradethrough trade expansion. Exports of China have been growing rapidly, and imports ofChina have also been growing rapidly, although China remains with a trade surplus.This will probably change when China develops its domestic markets," Lamy said in anexclusive interview with People's Daily Online.
According to statistics from China Customs, in 2012, China's total volume of import andexport amounted to 3.87 trillion U.S. dollars, making it the world's second largesttrading nation.
Lamy believes the next stage of China's participation into the world economy is not onlywith trade but with investment as China's companies are investing abroad more andmore. "China will become a major player not just exporting from China, but establishingproduction facilities elsewhere on the planet, which will even contribute to the integrityof economy," he said.
The will inevitably create trade tension or friction, notably in the Western world. "Theyhave to get accustomed to Chinese companies investing in the U.S., Japan or the E.U.,"he added.
Believing trade tensions and disputes are natural in international trade, Lamy said theWTO members should resolve the disputes within the frame of the WTO, and it's betterto try and settle the disputes before going to the court.
This is Lamy's second visit to People's Daily Online. In 2003, he visited the website asthe E.U. trade commissioner and had an online chat with the readers.