DDG Hill calls for strengthened efforts to tackle emerging challenges at Import Expo

At the Hongqiao International Economic Forum on 5 November in Shanghai, WTO Deputy Director-General Johanna Hill emphasized the importance of ensuring that “trade remains a lever for lifting all livelihoods”. Delivering a message at a high-level session titled “China and 30 Years of the WTO: History and Evolution,” DDG Hill highlighted WTO members' active discussions on emerging challenges and encouraged China and all WTO members to keep working for a better future for all through the multilateral trading system.

The Forum is the flagship event of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), held from 5 to 10 November. DDG Hill emphasized that trade has consistently served as a foundation for economic, cultural and social connections between nations. She noted: “As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the WTO, this message is more powerful than ever. Today, the WTO’s 166 members encompass nearly 8 billion people, with 2023 trade in goods and services exceeding USD 30 trillion — a sixfold increase since the WTO’s founding.”

DDG Hill highlighted the contribution of China's WTO membership to the country's economic growth, development, and market reforms. “China is the second largest economy globally, growing 13-fold since joining the WTO in 2001. During that time, hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens have been lifted out of poverty and the country's GDP per capita increased from USD 1,000 to over USD 12,000,” she added.

She noted, however, that the world faces new challenges — climate change, public health crises and digital transformation — that differ from those of 30 years ago. “While the existing trade rules, rooted in the foundational principles of transparency and non-discrimination, remain the bedrock of international trade, the shifting reality may call for fresh perspectives on trade,” she said.

DDG Hill emphasized that WTO members are determined to address new challenges and many of them are working on WTO initiatives involving e-commerce, the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, services domestic regulation, and environmental issues, with active participation from China. She commended China for its contributions to the multilateral trading system, noting that these efforts are in line with the expectations for an economy the size and significance of China. She further highlighted the calls from members for China to assume an even greater leadership role, particularly in advancing WTO reform and continuing to modernize and open its economy.

Reflecting on China's recent Trade Policy Review, DDG Hill welcomed China’s assurances of ongoing economic reforms as “an important step towards fostering trust in a world where divisions deepen, and cooperation becomes increasingly challenging.”

Looking ahead, DDG Hill underscored the need for enhanced cooperation among WTO members. “This is my call to all WTO members, including China, as we look to the next 30 years. We need to work past our differences for a better future for all,” she concluded.