News from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 31: On October 30, 2021 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ivila, in Rome.
Wang Yi congratulated Ywera on becoming the first Director-General of African descent of the WTO, saying that this marked the strengthening of the strength of developing countries in the international arena, and China would fully support the Director-General in his performance of his duties.
Wang Yi said that President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech today at the first phase of the G20 Rome Summit, stressing the need to safeguard the multilateral trading system with the WTO as the core and promote the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference to achieve positive results. This fully reflects the great importance that China attaches to the role of the WTO. This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the WTO. As a staunch defender of the multilateral trading system, China is willing to work with all parties to jointly safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the WTO, promote the liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment, and consolidate the cornerstone of global trade.
Ivira said that I listened to President Xi Jinping's important speech at the scene and was deeply encouraged. We sincerely congratulate China on the 20th anniversary of its accession to the WTO. China's accession to the WTO is of great significance, and the WTO attaches great importance to China's important influence and leading role, and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China, especially in the 12th Ministerial Conference.
When talking about "special and differential treatment", Wang Yi said that China is the largest developing country in the world, because the problem of unbalanced and insufficient development is still prominent and the development task is still arduous. Politically, China will always belong to the group of developing countries and will firmly defend the common interests of developing countries. At the same time, China has never shied away from its international responsibilities. Whether it is the reduction of the overall tariff level or the actual enjoyment of "special and differential treatment", China has assumed obligations that go far beyond the WTO accession commitments. China has not competed with developing countries for resources in the past, at present and will not compete with developing countries, and on the basis of adhering to the overall positioning of developing countries, we will continue to assume responsibilities and obligations commensurate with our own level of development and make greater contributions to the realization of common development.