The High-end Seminar on the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC12) and its Outcome Evaluation was held online on June 23. The seminar was hosted by the National Collaborative Group of Universities on International Trade Disciplines and the Network on International Trade and Investment System (NITIS), and organized by the Shanghai International Trade Association and SUIBE.
The seminar was attended by a number of renowned experts, including Yi Xiaozhun, former Deputy Director-General of the WTO and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of China, Hong Xiaodong, member of the China Society for WTO Studies and former director of the MOFCOM Department for WTO Affairs, Lu Xiankun, Director of the Lecco Center of Geneva in Switzerland and President of the Friends of Multilateralism Group (FMG), Lin Guijun, Secretary General of the National Collaborative Group of Universities on International Trade Disciplines and former vice president of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), Sheng Bin, Dean of the School of Economics of Nankai University, Tu Xinquan, WTO Chair Holder of China, and Cui Fan, professor from the UIBE, as well as more than 310 representatives from Chinese universities, government departments and business community.
Mr. Yi delivered an opening speech at the meeting. He briefly reviewed the complex evolution of the world economy and the WTO since the MC11and analyzed the changes of macro policies and trading philosophies of major economies under the influence of the current international relations, China-U.S. ties, COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and other major events of historic influence.
He also introduced the restructuring of the global value chain, industrial chain disruption and supply chain crisis resulting from the changes. Besides, he profoundly expounded on the significance of the MC12, which was hailed as a “touchstone for the survival of multilateralism”.
Lu Xiankun and Hong Xiaodong delivered keynote speeches, while Lin Guijun, Sheng Bin and Cui Fan made commentary speeches. Scholars attending the meeting held active discussions on the follow-up implementation of the outcomes of the MC12, the future direction of the reform of the multilateral trading system and how China should further play an active role. Questions raised by participants were well answered by the experts.
In the final part of the seminar, Yi made an excellent summary speech and provided a preliminary evaluation of the MC12 and its outcomes.
