China’s Relations with the Global South in the World Trade Organization

When China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) more than twenty years ago, it positioned itself as a partner of the developing world. This chapter assesses the role that China has played vis-à-vis the Global South in WTO negotiations. The existing scholarly literature tends to portray China either as a development partner, given ideological South-South ties, or as an economic competitor, given its own economic transformation. Based on an analysis of China’s negotiation behaviour and other WTO members’ perceptions of its role, the chapter argues that China plays an increasingly ambiguous role vis-à-vis the Global South. China’s political intention to support a broader development agenda is increasingly undermined by the way in which its larger economic size leads to competition with other developing countries. The specific conflict lines that emerge reflect in part the increasing heterogeneity of the Global South. Perceptions of China’s role are moreover linked to the political agenda of Special and Differential Treatment (S&D) for developing countries. Other developing countries increasingly see China also as a competitor for development-related flexibilities and exemptions in the multilateral trade regime.