EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom urged China to cooperate on WTO reform in a press conference in Paris today. She said “China has won a lot from the WTO system”. And the EU calls on China to “show leadership and to engage with us to reform and to update the system, to create a level playing field.” She warned that “otherwise the U.S. will create a level playing field outside the system”.
Malmstrom also noted that the WTO’s disputes system was on a slippery slope and “one false step here could quickly lead to collapse of the whole rules-based system.” She added “Without it, it would be anarchy, there would be no order, and we would all be losers. And the poorest countries would be the biggest losers. And we would lose a system that has been used to ensure stability for generations.”
