Editor's Note: The GATT centered multilateral trading system established after World War II has always been a "club for the wealthy.". Developing countries' participation in the multilateral trading system often has limited capacity and a shortage of talent. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has implemented the "Technical Cooperation Assistance Programme for Multilateral Trade Negotiations" for many years to provide technical assistance to developing countries. China is no exception. Thirty five years ago, China proposed to restore its seat in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Since then, until the establishment of the WTO, China has benefited greatly from this assistance program. On the occasion of commemorating the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the WTO, Tang Xiaobing, a consultant to Gaopeng Law Firm, wrote this memorial article as the specific executor of the plan that year.

As we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of China's accession to the WTO, we should not forget the support and assistance provided by international organizations and individuals, especially from the UNCTAD MTN Technical Cooperation Program, who have provided us with technical support and assistance during the most difficult and difficult period of China's accession negotiations.

The technical cooperation project programme for multilateral trade negotiations of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development began with a resolution adopted by the Third United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 1972, which decided to provide technical assistance to developing countries participating in the upcoming Tokyo Round of GATT multilateral trade negotiations.

The implementation of this assistance project mainly takes into account the lack of understanding and knowledge of the laws and negotiating skills involved in the previous round of multilateral trade negotiations, the Kennedy Round, among developing countries; Lack of sufficient statistical information and data support to effectively participate in both difficult and complex negotiations. It is very important for these developing countries to participate in the negotiations of these GATT multilateral trade rounds. "At that time, developed countries refused to discuss with them what they were very concerned about outside the GATT multilateral trade round negotiations, reducing and reducing trade barriers and improving market access conditions.".

In 1973, in order to enable developing countries to actively and effectively participate in the GATT Tokyo Round of multilateral trade negotiations, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development established a new Multilateral Trade Negotiations Assistance Projects and Programmes Division, and appointed a senior Chinese and senior GATT staff member at the time, Mr. Constant Chung tse Shih, as Director. During the entire GATT Tokyo Round of multilateral trade negotiations, the Project Programme Division provided various technical assistance and negotiation capacity-building support to all recipient developing countries and regional groups. At the same time, this assistance project has also accumulated a lot of experience and human resources for UNCTAD in multilateral trade negotiations.

In 1979, with the launch of China's reform and opening up process, the central government decided to restore China's seats in the Bretton Woods system, namely, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

In 1980, after successfully restoring our country's seats in the IMF and WB, it became extremely urgent to restore our country's seat in GATT.

On May 20th, 1980, after registering at the Second Division of the International Relations Group of the former Ministry of Foreign Trade, I immediately began preparations for the resumption of negotiations on China's GATT seat. I remember that the first task at that time was to collate and review the results of the Tokyo Round of negotiations and the finalization of the Chinese versions of the nine agreements reached.

Although these agreements had been translated into Chinese by colleagues from the UNCTAD team of my United Nations delegation in Geneva at the time, the difficulties we faced in reviewing and collating the results of the Tokyo Round of negotiations and the texts of the nine agreements were similar to those encountered by developing countries in participating in the multilateral trade negotiations under the Kennedy Pact, with a lack of understanding and familiarity with the laws and regulations involved in the negotiations, as well as a lack of multilateral negotiation skills and knowledge, Lack of sufficient information and statistical data to support, as well as a lack of understanding of the complex negotiating context between right and wrong.

From October 20 to November 2, 1980, we invited Mr. Murry Gibbs, head of the multilateral trade negotiation programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, to visit Beijing. (At that time, the Tokyo Round of GATT negotiations had ended, and Mr. Shi Zhongce, Director of the United Nations Development and Trade Assistance Programme for Multilateral Trade Negotiations, had also retired.) Mr. Gibbs arrived very promptly. In just a few days, he gave us a very systematic and detailed introduction to the GATT rules, system and history, the results of the Tokyo Round of negotiations, the relationship between the economies of state-owned trading countries and the GATT rules and multilateral trade negotiations, as well as the Multi Fiber Agreement (MFA). He held discussions with participants on issues such as the restoration of China's seat in the GATT, whether to accept the nine agreements of the Tokyo Round, and accession to the Multi Fiber Agreement. This is the first workshop/seminar we have ever organized on China's entry into the WTO. Nearly 30 participants were invited, mainly from the International Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of China, the National Import and Export Management Committee, the Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry's Import and Export Bureau, research institutes, policy research offices, the Textile Corporation, and the School of Foreign Trade. The participants felt that they had benefited greatly. After the meeting, various units also established contact persons for customs entry issues. I remember that at that time, the contacts of the International Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on entry issues were Li Daoyu and Xu Shouguan.

Subsequently, he participated in the coordination meetings of developing textile exporting countries and regions in China; Participating in the International Bureau of Textile and Clothing; Accession to multi fiber agreements; As well as some sensitive and difficult issues encountered in China's accession negotiations, China has continuously received technical assistance from UNCTAD's Multilateral Trade Negotiation Assistance Programme and Mr. GIBBS, especially in terms of negotiating capacity proposals.

On July 10, 1986, China formally submitted a request to restore its status as a contracting party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

In September of the same year, the GATT held a meeting of trade ministers in Punta del Este and launched the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations. China participated in the GATT Ministerial Conference on Trade in Cape Town of Este and participated in the Uruguay Round negotiations as an official participant.

In March 1987, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development established a new multilateral trade negotiation assistance project to help developing countries actively and effectively participate in the GATT Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations. During the entire Uruguay Round, China, together with other developing countries and regions, received various technical assistance and negotiation capacity-building support from the project.

In March 1992, at the request of our government, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Multilateral Trade Negotiation Assistance Project Programme, using funds from the United Nations Development Programme, provided further, more comprehensive, more specific, and more targeted technical assistance to our country through the CPR/91/543 project.

The project is divided into two stages:

The first stage, the project preparation stage (PA), mainly helps China formulate a development strategy for service trade and strengthen negotiation capacity building.

In the second phase, the PA project documents were revised in November 1992. During the revision process, at the request of Vice Minister Long Yongtu, the project covered all areas involved in multilateral trade negotiations. (At that time, Long had just been transferred from the Exchange Center to the International Division as Director.) The final project document was signed in June 1993. The project implementation ended in May 1998.

The main objectives of the project are: (1) to support China's more effective participation in the international multilateral trading system; (2) Determine the barriers faced by China's foreign trade in services and goods through international negotiations and the countermeasures to eliminate these barriers; (3) Effectively strengthen support for the service industry itself and develop a strategy for this purpose; (4) Strengthen the negotiation ability of Chinese officials in trade negotiations, and improve the ability of Chinese research institutions to provide input to trade policy formulation.

The project aims to assist our government in the following ways: (1) conducting training programs for our trade officials; (2) Conduct preparatory studies; (3) Organizing seminars and workshops; (4) Advising on policy formulation for trade and development in the services sector; And develop trade databases for goods and services; (5) Disseminate trade policy information.

Due to the establishment of the WTO in 1995, the technical assistance required for the final stage of the project was expanded to: (1) increase people's awareness of the importance and impact of the rules of the international multilateral trading system on our country; (2) Strengthen the construction of China's trade policy management and other systems; (3) Improve China's ability to fulfill multilateral rules and disciplinary obligations; (4) Further enhance China's capacity in trade policy formulation and trade negotiations.

(This article is translated by software translator for reference only.)