News Archive

WTO: Tomorrow is the DAY
November 11, 2001 

Monday will be the first working day after China entered the World Trade Organization and for most, not much will have changed.

On Monday China will enter a five year transition period where – varying from sector to sector – changes will take off one after another. Banks will have a freer access to the Chinese market, in five year time, while fund managers can already set up their joint ventures on Monday, actually: the first contracts have already been signed.

A picture in the China Daily shows on Saturday a port in Eastern China “as the port‘s business is becoming more and more busy amid China’s anticipated entry into the World Trade Organization”. In the short run, due to falling exports because of the severe economic crisis, the opposite might happen.

While very much is still in the dark on what the WTO really means for different industries, lawyers will see their workload, and income go up. Journalist might be busy too, as conflicts because of non-compliance are likely to go up. The expectations of fast changes will be smothered in endless bureaucratic battles. The WTO simply is not a powerful institution. It might at best be a useful instrument when both sides voluntarily agree to cooperate.

Both foreign business people and authorities in Beijing will run into local trade barriers, stubborn petty officials, corruption and other blockades that will prevent real free trade to take off.

Decreasing tariffs, open trade will in the end change the whole structure of some industries. The financial industry, the car industry and many more will feel the forces of competition. But things will not be different on Monday. There will be fast changes in China’s economic structure in the coming ten years. So, in that way nothing will change compared to the past ten years. China will not become a paradise for business. It will also not collapse. It will change, very fast.

Tagalder is on the forefront and ready to for this great opportunities. Tagalder has a team of management stationed in Hong Kong and access to China market and Asia for various business ventures in progress.

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