This book examines, from the legal perspective, China's process of WTO accession, its commitments to the accession, the implications of such commitments for its trade and legal systems, and its efforts toward WTO compliance. It also discusses the issue of the capacity of the evolving Chinese legal system for ensuring compliance. In particular, the book probes into the trade and legal systems at the turn of the accession and evaluates selected trade and legal issues, including intellectual property, foreign investment law and settlement of trade disputes.
Contents:
- China and the WTO Law:
- China's WTO Accession: History, Concerns and Issues
- China's WTO Accession: Commitments and Implications
- Preparing China's Trade and Legal Systems for WTO Compliance
- China and the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism:
- Is China's Judiciary Ready for WTO Entry?
- Can the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism Resolve Trade Disputes Between China and Taiwan?
- Will China Behave in the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism?
- Towards WTO Compliance: China's Trade Regime:
- New Dimension of China's Foreign Investment Regime on the Eve of WTO Accession
- Chinese Law and Practice on Government Procurement in the Context of WTO Accession
- China's Online Copyright Protection on the Eve of WTO Accession
- China's Telecom Regulatory Regime on the Eve of WTO Accession
- Where Will China's Internet Regulation Go After WTO Accession?
- Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in China: On the Eve of WTO Accession
- Conclusion:
- Enforcement of WTO Agreements in China: Reality or Illusion?
Readership: Academic and practising lawyers; researchers and graduate students in trade, Chinese law, economy and politics; trade officials; and businessmen.
“In this timely book Professor Kong Qingjiang has carefully drawn attention to some of the major issues that China's lawmakers and government officials will have to face. Everyone who wants to understand how to ensure that China gets the most out of its membership of the WTO would benefit from reading this book.”
David Wall
Professor of International Relations and China Studies
Cambridge University
“China's accession to the WTO, an important event not only for China but also for the world economy as a whole, has spawned a host of legal issues. Professor Kong Qingjiang, a very able Chinese expert on the subject, examined them with much clarity. This book is invaluable for anyone interested in China's role in the world economy.”
Yuji Iwasawa
Professor of International Law
University of Tokyo
“Dr Qingjiang Kong's meticulously researched and well organized study of the legal issues relating to China's accession to the WTO not only lends itself to an understanding of issues around China's WTO commitments and its implications, but also constitutes an important building block in a growing edifice of international public policy studies regarding monitoring China's compliance with its commitments.”
Yu Jinsong
Professor of International Economic Law
Wuhan University
“The most important aspect of the book is that it is written in a way that makes it readily accessible to the non-legal scholar. It is not particularly legalistic or overly technical, and the author makes valuable links between the legal aspects and the implications for business and policy analysis. This is refreshing and will greatly increase its appeal … this book is a valuable and highly readable contribution to a very important topic. It is of considerable value to a wide range of users. For teaching purposes one could confidently assign the introductory chapters to MBA and similar programs to provide useful context and background. More specialist readers will find worthwhile overviews of a number of topics in individual chapters.”
Journal of Asian Business
“Two of the most interesting chapters involve discussion of regulatory regimes for telecommunications and Internet as these existed prior to WTO accession … students and scholars interested in understanding the Chinese government's perspective on WTO accession and performance will find this a readily accessible handbook. As we learn more about the practical implications of China's performance of WTO obligations, Kong's volume may become a useful benchmark against which to measure the changing contours of China's WTO policy.”
The China Quarterly
“A particularly valuable aspect of the book is its inclusion of case studies of past trade disputes between China and trading parties, which provide a good guide to likely future behaviour … China and the World Trade Organization provides a very useful introduction to and analysis of the issues and developments to date and will be of great benefit to public policy analysts and scholars alike.”
Asian-Pacific Economic Literature
“This book is ambitious in its coverage and rich in the amount of information supplied. Readers with limited background in the subject matter can expect to benefit from the author's introduction to the topics treated … it should serve as a useful guide for the general public and nonspecialists who are interested in the legal dimensions of China's WTO accession.”
The Journal of Asian Studies
