Salient Features of <strong>China</strong>'s Existing FTAs Page 24 of 88
3.1 Introducti<strong>on</strong> <strong>China</strong> has emerged as a major player in the global ec<strong>on</strong>omy and c<strong>on</strong>siders free trade agreements as an important part of its global trading strategy. 84 Immediately after joining the World <strong>Trade</strong> Organizati<strong>on</strong> (WTO) in December 2001, <strong>China</strong> not <strong>on</strong>ly reduced trade barriers as a member of the multilateral trading system but also adopted a bilateral/regi<strong>on</strong>al approach to trade liberalizati<strong>on</strong>. 85 <strong>China</strong> did not enter into FTAs until then for several reas<strong>on</strong>s: little or no interest in FTAs in the 1970s and 1980s; different trade structure of <strong>China</strong>; resource c<strong>on</strong>straints; and strategic choice. 86 However in the mid- 1990s, the situati<strong>on</strong> changed and <strong>China</strong> started to c<strong>on</strong>sider the possibility of entering into FTAs, as highlighted in the Ninth Five Year Plan, a blueprint for nati<strong>on</strong>al ec<strong>on</strong>omic and social development, which was adopted in 1996. 87 According to the Plan: <strong>China</strong> shall “actively participate and develop regi<strong>on</strong>al ec<strong>on</strong>omic cooperati<strong>on</strong>” as well as “strengthen South-South Cooperati<strong>on</strong>, and promote and develop the ec<strong>on</strong>omic and trade cooperati<strong>on</strong> with developing countries.” At the same time the Plan calls for <strong>China</strong> to “actively participate and defend the global multilateral trading system, develop both bilateral and multilateral trade, so that they can promote each other and the market can be diversified”. Thus <strong>China</strong> c<strong>on</strong>siders regi<strong>on</strong>al trade agreements as a complement to the multilateral trading system 88 . In the words of <strong>China</strong>’s Ministry of Commerce, FTAs offer “as a new platform to further opening up to the outside and speeding up domestic reforms, an effective approach to integrate into global ec<strong>on</strong>omy and strengthen ec<strong>on</strong>omic cooperati<strong>on</strong> with other ec<strong>on</strong>omies, as well as particularly an important supplement to the multilateral trading system.” 89 Over the past two decades, <strong>China</strong> has been actively pursuing FTAs with various countries towards this end. The geographic distributi<strong>on</strong> of <strong>China</strong>’s FTAs dem<strong>on</strong>strates a high degree of cross-regi<strong>on</strong>al orientati<strong>on</strong>. <strong>China</strong> has c<strong>on</strong>cluded FTAs, or entered into negotiati<strong>on</strong>s, with almost every major regi<strong>on</strong> in the world, including Europe (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland), America (Chile, Peru and Costa Rica), Middle East (GCC), Africa (SACU), East Asia (Japan, Korea, H<strong>on</strong>g K<strong>on</strong>g, and Macau), Southeast Asia (ASEAN and Singapore), South Asia (Pakistan and India), and Oceania (New Zealand and Australia). 90 As of June 2014, <strong>China</strong> is a party to eleven bilateral trade agreements and a regi<strong>on</strong>al trade agreement. 91 • <strong>China</strong>-ASEAN FTA • Mainland and H<strong>on</strong>g K<strong>on</strong>g Closer Ec<strong>on</strong>omic and Partnership Arrangement • Mainland and Macau Closer Ec<strong>on</strong>omic and Partnership Arrangement • <strong>China</strong>-Pakistan FTA • <strong>China</strong>-New Zealand FTA • <strong>China</strong>-Singapore FTA • <strong>China</strong>-Chile FTA • <strong>China</strong>-Peru FTA 84 Zhan, Yunling (2011), People’s Republic of <strong>China</strong>, in Asia’s <strong>Free</strong> <strong>Trade</strong> <strong>Agreement</strong>s: How is Business Resp<strong>on</strong>ding? (ed.) M. Kawai & G. Wignaraja, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp.107-109 85 Yunling, Z. and Minhui, S. (200?), FTAs in Asia-Pacific: A Chinese Perspective, Available at: http://www2.jiia.or.jp/en/pdf/publicati<strong>on</strong>/2013-06_005-kokusaim<strong>on</strong>dai.pdf 86 Gao, H. (2011), “<strong>China</strong>’s Strategy for <strong>Free</strong> <strong>Trade</strong> <strong>Agreement</strong>s: Political Battle in the Name of <strong>Trade</strong>”, available at: [http://www.networkideas.org/networkideas/editorfiles/file/Henry_Gao.pdf] 87 Ibid 88 WTO (2012) <strong>Trade</strong> Policy Review: <strong>China</strong>, Secretariat Report. Available at: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp364_e.htm 89 Ministry of Commerce PRC, <strong>China</strong> FTA Network, Available at : http://fta.mofcom.gov.cn/english/index.shtml 90 Ibid 91 Ibid Page 25 of 88