Over on twitter and elsewhere, I often hear vague allegations along the lines of "China cheats on its WTO obligations." There are two aspects to the issue of China's compliance with its WTO obligations: (1) How does China respond to WTO complaints brought against it, and does China comply with WTO rulings against it? And (2) does China comply with its WTO obligations more generally?
Along with my Cato colleagues Jim Bacchus and Huan Zhu, I tried to answer the first question in this policy paper. Now law professor Weihuan Zhou has written an entire book on the subject. Our conclusions are similar I think: China may not be perfect, but it does a reasonably good job of responding positively to WTO complaints and complying with rulings against it (especially when you compare it to other Members).
The more difficult question is whether China complies with it WTO obligations generally. That's a hard question to answer without the development of facts and the discussion of law that comes about as part of WTO litigation on a particular case.
If these issues interest you, I encourage you to come to our Cato book forum for Weihuan's book at noon on December 4, where I will be moderating and Jim will be offering comments. You can register here: https://www.cato.org/events/chinas-implementation-rulings-world-trade-organization As always, there is a free lunch.
