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Sunshine over Shanghai: Can the WTO Illuminate the Murky World of Chinese SOEs?

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  • WOLFE, ROBERT
Abstract
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are a major force in the Chinese economy and a growing presence in international trade and investment. The challenge to the WTO legal regime is commercial, given the size of SOEs and their share of Chinese output, and political, given worries that trade and investment by SOEs may be driven by public policy goals. And both challenges may be exacerbated by the murky world of Chinese SOEs. In this article, I first review whether Chinese SOEs are a problem for the WTO, and whether more sunshine on their operations might be a useful discipline. I then ask what we know about SOEs inside the WTO, including in the Trade Policy Review Mechanism. Since the answer is, not much, I consider whether mega-regional trade negotiations offer a better approach. My answer being negative, I finally consider whether an attempt to negotiate a WTO Reference Paper on SOEs might help. I conclude that transparency is likely to be a better discipline on the spillovers associated with SOEs than a search for binding rules, while also helping everyone better understand the efficiency effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolfe, Robert, 2017. "Sunshine over Shanghai: Can the WTO Illuminate the Murky World of Chinese SOEs?," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 713-732, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:wotrrv:v:16:y:2017:i:04:p:713-732_00
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Bernard Hoekman & Douglas Nelson, 2020. "Rethinking international subsidy rules," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 3104-3132, December.
    2. Robert Wolfe, 2021. "Informal Learning and WTO Renewal: Using Thematic Sessions to Create More Opportunities for Dialogue," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S3), pages 30-40, April.
    3. Petros C. Mavroidis & Merit E. Janow, 2017. "Free Markets, State Involvement, and the WTO: Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the Ring," RSCAS Working Papers 2017/13, European University Institute.
    4. Robert Wolfe, 2021. "Yours is bigger than mine! Could an index like the Producer Subsidy Equivalent help in understanding the comparative incidence of industrial subsidies?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 328-345, February.
    5. Bernard Hoekman & Robert Wolfe, 2021. "Reforming the World Trade Organization: Practitioner Perspectives from China, the EU, and the US," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 29(4), pages 1-34, July.
    6. Robert Wolfe, 2020. "Yours is Bigger than Mine! Could an Index like the PSE Help in Understanding the Comparative Incidence of Industrial Subsidies?," RSCAS Working Papers 2020/52, European University Institute.
    7. Robert Wolfe, 2020. "Informal Learning and WTO Renewal. Using Thematic Sessions to Create More Opportunities for Dialogue," RSCAS Working Papers 2020/51, European University Institute.
    8. Bernard Hoekman & Douglas Nelson, 2020. "Subsidies, Spillovers and Multilateral Cooperation," RSCAS Working Papers 2020/12, European University Institute.

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