The Political and Social Implications of China's Accession to the WTO

There is no topic that is more hotly debated in China and more important to the country's future than the anticipated accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). After 13 years of efforts to achieve membership in the world trade body, the United States and China finally reached agreement in November 1999; shortly thereafter the European Union and China came to agreement and negotiations moved on to Geneva where a working party is expected to formulate a protocol of accession that will allow China to enter the WTO by late 2001. Ironically, after years of fuming that the West was trying to keep China out of the trade body, the prospect of actually joining has set off a flurry of speculation over the impact on China's economy and many have begun questioning the benefits of membership. Many worry that China's industries will be exposed to crippling competition, that farmers will be hurt by the import of cheap (and better quality) foreign wheat and corn, and that China as a nation will become entangled in a global capitalist network that will erode the country's sovereignty and, in the worst case scenario, reduce China to an “appendage” of the West, particularly the United States.