On March 25, the WTO Multistakeholder Ministerial Event on Scaling up Investment Facilitation to Mobilize Investment was held in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao attended and addressed the event. Other speakers included WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and ministers or senior officials of WTO members, including the Republic of Korea, Chile, The Gambia, and Cambodia. Ambassador Li Yongjie, Permanent Representative of China to the WTO, also attended the meeting.

Wang Wentao noted that against the backdrop of rising unilateralism and protectionism, and amid challenges and uncertainties facing the global economy and investment, WTO members should take proactive steps to jointly uphold the position of the multilateral trading system as the main channel for international rules-setting, establish multilateral investment rules that suit the new circumstances, and foster the recovery of global cross-border investment to demonstrate the authority and effectiveness of the WTO.

Wang noted that the WTO Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement is the world’s first multilateral investment agreement and the first trade and investment pact with development at its core. The overwhelming majority of WTO members support its inclusion into the multilateral framework, which fully shows that promoting development is the trend of the times, and reinvigorating the WTO’s negotiation function is a shared aspiration. China hopes that all stakeholders will build consensus, seek common ground while reserving differences, advance the global development agenda, and strive for historic outcomes from this 14th WTO Ministerial Conference.

Wang stated that China will continue to support technical assistance and capacity building under the IFD Agreement. China stands ready to work with all stakeholders, uphold the principles of openness, inclusiveness, benefit for all, balance, and win-win cooperation as well as multilateralism, facilitate the early entry into force and implementation of the IFD Agreement, foster global open cooperation, and ensure that the benefits of development reach more countries and peoples.

The Multistakeholder Ministerial Event on Scaling up Investment Facilitation to Mobilize Investment is a key side event of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference. The IFD Agreement aims to improve the global investment and business environment and facilitate global investment flows. It currently has 128 signatories, including China. (Released on March 26)