Should China change international trade rules?
China, which marks the 10th anniversary of its accession to the World Trade Organization on Dec. 11, has seen its GDP almost quadruple over the past decade, and exports and imports rise nearly fivefold. Here, a Chinese man dressed as a mythical figure hands out discount coupons to a tourist in Beijing.
The World Trade Organization's latest ruling against China drew a typical response from China's Ministry of Commerce, but a somewhat more intriguing one from one of the country's main patriotic newspapers.
While official China said it "regretted" the WTO's ruling on its exports of nine different types of raw materials, the Global Times said in an editorial on Wednesday that maybe China shouldn't be following all the rules.
Whether China does follow the rules is up for debate, a topic that even US President Barack Obama has addressed in calling for trade partners to act like grown-ups. International companies in China have complained that this country falls far short of meeting the promises it made to get in the WTO 10 years ago. In some cases, China may be backsliding on those pledges.
More from GlobalPost: China loses WTO appeal on raw materials
But according to the Global Times, China should reconsider its attitude toward the WTO and global trade practices. The editorial says:
"China has generally been following WTO regulations and rulings. But it should find the best balance between applying WTO rules and protecting its national interests. Getting approval from the West is not our top concern. Admittedly, joining the WTO has boosted China's rise. However, entry was granted at the cost of China accepting some unfair terms, from which the aftereffects have gradually emerged, including this ruling. They may become a hidden problem for China's economy."
"The latest WTO ruling has highlighted the urgency of amending some of the unfair terms of The Protocol of China's Entry into the WTO. It is also necessary to express China's dissatisfaction and garner public support for the revision."
More from GlobalPost: China and the WTO, 10 years later
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