ABSTRACT
In many ways, the pharmaceutical industry is a microcosm for tensions
between China’s accession to the WTO and its domestic economic and social development. The interplay of domestic policy and international
trade policy reflects the challenges of China’s decision to enter the global
trading system. The market reformers in China’s central government are
betting that the benefits of increased market share, international capital,
and access to technology will outweigh the harm to domestic industries, and
the threats of social instability. They are also hopeful that the added clout
of international pressure from the WTO will enhance their efforts to over-
come local resistance to market opening and reform. At the same time, the government is actively pursuing strategies to strengthen domestic capacity
to compete with global firms.1
