On March 25, the 14th China Round Table on WTO Accessions was convened in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks. Other speakers included WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the WTO 14th Ministerial Conference and Cameroon’s Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, and ministers from some WTO members and acceding governments. The meeting was chaired by WTO Deputy Director-General Zhang Xiangchen. Ambassador Li Yongjie, Permanent Representative of China to the WTO, also attended the event.

Wang Wentao stated that the China’s Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) and Accessions Programme (the China Programme) is a successful practice of South-South cooperation initiated by China at the WTO. China consistently supports developing countries, including those in Africa, in integrating into the multilateral trading system. China actively expands voluntary and unilateral opening up and is ready to help countries enhance their capabilities to export to China and thus enable them to share in the opportunities of China’s supersized market. With a focus on development, China will improve the quality and effectiveness of the China Programme, strengthen solidarity and coordination, open cooperation, and resource support, and support the Global Trust Fund (GTF) to better play its role. China will take concrete actions to implement the Global Development Initiative, and create more development opportunities for other developing countries.

During the event, Wang Wentao and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala signed the China-WTO Memorandum of Understanding on extending the China Programme and a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a contribution to the GTF. The China Programme was jointly initiated by China and the WTO Secretariat in 2011, with the round table being a key component. The GTF is a major WTO technical assistance project for comprehensive capacity building. This year’s round table, themed “The Value of WTO Accession in the Multilateral Trading System”, shared best practices in Africa and discussed the challenges and opportunities of the accession process, to assist African countries in joining the WTO and benefiting from it as soon as possible. (Released on March 25)