ABSTRACT
The debate surrounding China’s ability to meet the requirements of the WTO
accession package (‘compliance’) has tended to focus on two levels: whether the
Chinese government’s commitment is genuine, or whether leaders responsible
for the accession package can enforce their WTO commitments by potentially
recalcitrant economic ministries and local officials – especially in the face of
social and economic dislocations caused, in part, by WTO-related adjustments.
While discussion of compliance has been important, there are deeper issues
raised by the academic literature on comparative and international political
economy that cast a different light on the nature of Chinese accession. The
purpose of this article is to examine some key ideas from the broader political
economy literature that can help frame our understanding of the relationship
between WTO as a globalizing force and the domestic politics of China’s trade
policy. Two parts of the political economy literature – international trade policy
and regulatory policy – offer much for us to consider. This article attempts to
take a modest step in this direction.
