Is the WTO useless?

[abomvubuso]

How will the world trade order cope with a large, increasingly powerful, increasingly assertive new emerging superpower like China, which quite evidently views globalisation differently from the established power-brokers? That's the question that probably keeps both US and European politicians awake at night these days. The tension is most visible in the US, where Trump's administration has openly accused China of economic aggression, and responded by launching a trade war. Trump's methods could be perceived as too extreme, but the notion that something must be done about China's trade and industrial practices is actually quite prevalent among the mainstream political elites.

Sure, the tone is much milder in Europe, but they're sharing the same concerns. The EU commissioner of trade Cecilia Malmstrom recently asked how the Chinese state-dominated industrial model could be made compatible and placed at equal competitive footing with the open markets, globally. And that's a legitimate question. Because the Chinese model has some competitive advantages.

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