Benefits of China's joining the WTO dwindling

The initial advantages China gained from joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 are dwindling, trade experts warned on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Eighth Forum on Industrial International Competitiveness in Shanghai, experts called for further market reforms from China and the rest of the world to prevent trade frictions.

The primary benefits that China received have been eclipsed, said William Barringer, international trade director and senior partner at Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.

"By joining the WTO, the basic benefits are the lowering of tariffs, supported by the most favored nation treatment, and national treatment, among others," Barringer said.

As a result, China's WTO accession greatly boosted its trade volumes, notably in the textile, metals and machinery sectors.

For example, he said, textile and apparel manufacturers took full advantage of the elimination of quantitative restrictions on exports after 2005, with the sector growing 220 percent between 2001 and 2007.

The level playing field of lower tariffs allowed China to develop global competitiveness in numerous high-tech products, but while these drivers still exist, they have less momentum given the size of the trade volume, Barringer said.

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