World Trade Organization: Ensuring China's Compliance Requires a Sustained and Multifaceted Approach

China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001 created substantial opportunities for U.S. companies seeking to expand into China's market. In joining the WTO, China agreed to liberalize its trade regime and open its markets to foreign goods and services. However, the U.S. government has become concerned about ensuring that China honors its commitments to offer a more predictable environment for trade. GAO was asked to describe (1) the monitoring of compliance challenges associated with the scope and complexity of China's WTO commitments and (2) the efforts to date of the key players involved in ensuring China's compliance: the executive branch, Congress, the private sector, the WTO and its other members. GAO's observations are based on its prior analysis of China's WTO commitments, its previous survey of and interviews with private sector representatives, and its examination of first-year efforts to ensure China's WTO compliance.