WTO改革应关注发展中成员的能力缺失问题

WTO Reform and Capacity Constraint of Its Developing Members

发展议题是多边贸易谈判的组成部分,也是当前世贸组织(WTO)改革的讨论内容。发展中国家特殊与差别待遇是多边发展议题的核心构成,历史沿革为给惠与受惠的关系。通过将"不完全契约"、"能力贫困"等理论分析框架引入多边贸易谈判领域,本文认为,发展议题的本质是发展中国家存在能力缺失,而能力缺失问题制约了发展中国家的谈判水平以及将谈判成果转化为国内经济发展的程度。从能力缺失和一系列经济社会指标看,中国仍是发展中国家。多边发展议题的出路在于弥补"规则赤字",解决发展中国家的能力缺失问题,既起始于多边规则谈判,也落脚于多边规则实施,即通过多边规则转化为国内法律法规,并将这一能力转化为国内经济和社会发展的动力和内生变量,进而发展中国家才能自主在多边贸易谈判中"根据能力作贡献"。

The issue of development has been an integral part of the multilateral trade negotiations and also an important aspect of the current WTO reform discussions. The special and differential treatment (S&DT) for developing countries is at the core of the development issue, which deals with the relationship between preference-giving and preference-taking. By introducing some theoretical analysis frameworks, such as the theory of“incomplete contract”and“poverty as capability deprivation”into the multilateral trade negotiations, this article concludes that the essence of the development issue at WTO is the capacity constraint of developing countries: the insufficient capacity limits the extent of their capability to negotiate internationally and transform the negotiated outcomes into domestic economic development. Reviewing the capacity constraint and an array of economic and social indicators, it argues that China is still a developing country. It also argues that the“deficit of rules”should be properly tackled to promote multilateral trade negotiations on development. The capacity constraint of developing countries stems from the past negotiations of multilateral trade rules and is demonstrated in the implementation of those rules. As a result, the developing countries may, on a voluntary basis, make contributions that match their capacities to multilateral trade negotiations through transforming multilateral trade rules into domestic laws and regulations and further converting their capacity into a driving force and endogenous engine for their domestic economic and social development.