The WTO will provide Taiwan and China with new forums for discussing economic issues after they join the trade body this week, former US trade representative Charlene Barshefsky said in an article published yesterday in the Washington Post.
"They will have a new and unique institutional means of discussing economic issues, one that does not raise questions of sovereignty and helps them develop ways to build confidence and find areas of mutual benefit," she said.
The work of the WTO is primarily in promoting free trade and settling trade disputes. But despite the WTO's economic bent, Barshefsky said, it might help its two future members -- Taiwan and China -- settle their longtime political grudges.
As the two economies open, Barshefsky wrote, the already large "informal" trade and investment relationship between them will be able to grow "without subterfuge or reproach."
These shifts will probably -- although not definitely -- improve the chances of cross-Strait stability, Barshefsky said.
The Washington lawyer, who served as US trade representative from 1996 to 2001 and helped negotiate the US-China bilateral WTO agreement, said that elements of Washington-Beijing relations that promote stability might also be strengthened after China's WTO entry.
The fourth WTO ministerial meeting, which started yesterday in Doha, Qatar, and will end Nov. 13, is expected to formally approve the membership applications of both Taiwan and China.
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