China to abandon Special and Differential Treatment in WTO talks
China announced on Tuesday that it will no longer seek the benefits associated with its developing country status at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
According to Xinhua, Chinese Premier Li Qiang confirmed that the country will forgo requesting Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) in both current and future WTO agreements during a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"This is a culmination of many years of hard work and I want to applaud China's leadership on this issue," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement posted on X.
The move follows long-standing calls from the United States, which has argued that meaningful WTO reforms cannot be achieved unless China, along with other major economies, relinquish the SDT privileges granted to developing countries.
The US claims these benefits create an unfair competitive edge.
Several major economies, including China and Saudi Arabia, self-designate as developing nations, thereby gaining access to SDT advantages such as higher tariffs and the ability to use subsidies.
The US has opposed the selective application of SDT benefits, pushing for China to renounce them entirely.
China's announcement follows months of trade friction between the two largest economies, which have been at odds over extensive tariffs imposed by the US and China's retaliatory measures.
Previously, China had told Reuters that its developing country status was non-negotiable, although it expressed a willingness to discuss SDT, subsidies, and industrial policy as part of broader WTO reform talks leading up to the 2026 ministerial meeting in Cameroon.
