Multilateralization of International Trade in Services Law and the Legal System of China's Foreign Trade in Services

Author: Tao Kaiyuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-08-01
Features: The multilateralization and liberalization of international trade in services are inevitable requirements of the inevitable trend of global economic integration. The multilateralization of the law of international trade in services is the inevitable requirement and necessary approach for the multilateralization and liberalization of international trade in services. The multilateralization of the law of international trade in services emerged with the establishment of the new multilateral trade system of the World Trade Organization. As one of the pillars of the "Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization," the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for the first time in human history incorporated international trade in services into a new global multilateral trade legal system, forming the basic framework document for the multilateralization of the law of international trade in services. As a basic framework legal document, the GATS has stipulated a series of principles, rules, and procedures for the multilateralization and liberalization of international trade in services, among which unconditional most-favored-nation treatment is its cornerstone, and specific commitments on market access and national treatment are its core. The multilateralization of the law of international trade in services does not exclude the regionalization of the law of international trade in services. In fact, their coexistence has become a striking feature in the process of multilateralization of the law of international trade in services. How to guide the healthy development of regionalization within the multilateral legal framework has become a focal point of the multilateral trading system. As an important member of the international community and the world's largest developing country, China cannot escape the impact of global economic integration and remain outside the multilateral trading system for a long time. Therefore, China has made extensive efforts to adapt to the requirements of global economic integration and the multilateral trading system. Considering China's relatively underdeveloped status in the service industry and its legal framework, as well as other national conditions, China must make strategic arrangements for its process of opening up and needs to reform its existing foreign trade operation system and management system for services. Since the multilateralization of the law of international trade in services directly touches upon a country's domestic management measures for trade in services, constituting a substantive "soft erosion" of a country's sovereignty, coupled with the severe imbalance among countries in the development of the service industry and trade in services, countries generally adopt a very cautious attitude toward it. Correspondingly, the GATS reached by countries is still a cautious, phased compromise product and still has much to be further clarified, supplemented, and improved. All of this determines that the multilateralization of the law of international trade in services will be a more tortuous and longer process than the multilateralization of the law of international trade in goods. However, regardless of how tortuous and long this process may be, it will move in the direction of continuously improving the level of multilateralization and liberalization of international trade in services. The multilateralization and liberalization of international trade in services are inevitable requirements of the inevitable trend of global economic integration. The multilateralization of the law of international trade in services is the inevitable requirement and necessary approach for the multilateralization and liberalization of international trade in services. The multilateralization of the law of international trade in services emerged with the establishment of the new multilateral trade system of the World Trade Organization. As one of the pillars of the "Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization," the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for the first time in human history incorporated international trade in services into a new global multilateral trade legal system, forming the basic framework document for the multilateralization of the law of international trade in services. As a basic framework legal document, the GATS has stipulated a series of principles, rules, and procedures for the multilateralization and liberalization of international trade in services, among which unconditional most-favored-nation treatment is its cornerstone, and specific commitments on market access and national treatment are its core. The multilateralization of the law of international trade in services does not exclude the regionalization of the law of international trade in services. In fact, their coexistence has become a striking feature in the process of multilateralization of the law of international trade in services. How to guide the healthy development of regionalization within the multilateral legal framework has become a focal point of the multilateral trading system. As an important member of the international community and the world's largest developing country, China cannot escape the impact of global economic integration and remain outside the multilateral trading system for a long time. Therefore, China has made extensive efforts to adapt to the requirements of global economic integration and the multilateral trading system. Considering China's relatively underdeveloped status in the service industry and its legal framework, as well as other national conditions, China must make strategic arrangements for its process of opening up and needs to reform its existing foreign trade operation system and management system for services. Since the multilateralization of the law of international trade in services directly touches upon a country's domestic management measures for trade in services, constituting a substantive "soft erosion" of a country's sovereignty, coupled with the severe imbalance among countries in the development of the service industry and trade in services, countries generally adopt a very cautious attitude toward it. Correspondingly, the GATS reached by countries is still a cautious, phased compromise product and still has much to be further clarified, supplemented, and improved. All of this determines that the multilateralization of the law of international trade in services will be a more tortuous and longer process than the multilateralization of the law of international trade in goods. However, regardless of how tortuous and long this process may be, it will move in the direction of continuously improving the level of multilateralization and liberalization of international trade in services.