Legal gray areas in WTO shape the effect of China’s rise on other developing countries

The imprecision of the World Trade Organization’s norm of ​“special and differential treatment” has allowed China to claim special rights at the expense of other WTO developing countries, argued Clara Weinhardt at the International Studies Association’s Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 17. The norm grants special rights to developing countries without specifying the group’s members. By taking advantage of this ambiguity and claiming membership, China has left less space for other countries to negotiate concessions, Weinhardt said.