China and GATT : a comparative study on the issues of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in international organizations

• Main Author: Li, Yuguo
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5689

As economic transactions become more and more important for all countries in their interrelations, the GATT contracting parties are considering the applications of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan to enter into this world trade organization. This happens at a time when the Uruguay Round negotiations have resulted successfully in an agreement between the contracting parties to set up the World Trade Organization. The two applicants are very important in the world economy. Apart from negotiations on the concrete concessions of the two applicants, other questions are under consideration. The applicants share a common background that the PRC, Taiwan plus Hong Kong and Macao are originally from one China, and Hong Kong will be under the sovereignty of China in 1997 which will probably speed up the unification of the four parts into one China someday. So it is not too early to consider questions which may arise from the influence of the accession style of the mainland and Taiwan on relations and positioning between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, and the interrelations between the four parts concerning participation in international organizations before and after unification. All four parts of China may be entitled respectively to participate in this international economic organization before and after unification. But the negative impacts on unification which may come about by the style of acceptance of the countries into the GATT cannot be ignored. The issues of the interrelations between the four parts of China in GATT should also be discussed.