Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with WTO Director-General Iweala on June 3 on the side of a WTO informal ministerial meeting in Paris, France. They had an in-depth exchange of views on the grave global trade situation and WTO reform.

Wang said that in the face of arbitrary tariff imposition by individual members, the WTO should strengthen supervision over unilateral tariffs and put forward impartial and neutral policy recommendations, urge members to ensure their bilateral trade arrangements comply with WTO rules and refrain from harming the interests of other members.

Wang said China firmly upholds the multilateral trading system and supports the WTO’ s efforts to play a more important role in global economic governance. China believes it’s imperative to focus on development and work to deliver outcomes in agriculture and development at the MC14. In advancing WTO reform, it’s essential to restore the normal operation of the dispute settlement mechanism as soon as possible, explore more flexible, efficient and responsible consensus-based decision-making practices, promote the early entry into force of agreements on fishery subsidies, investment facilitation and e-commerce, and hold discussions on topics such as trade and the environment, supply chain resilience, and artificial intelligence.

Dr. Iweala said that the current turmoil in international trade is hampering global economic growth. All parties should manage bilateral trade conflicts, support the multilateral trading system, promote WTO reform and ensure the success of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the WTO. China is a staunch defender of the multilateral trading system and hopes China can play a greater role in advancing WTO reform.

After the talks, Wang Wentao and Dr. Iweala signed a new memorandum of understanding on the "China Project", which aims to help developing members, especially the least developed countries, integrate into the multilateral trading system.