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The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a permanent international organization independent of the United Nations. It officially began operation on January 1, 1995, and is responsible for the management of the world economic and trade order, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Leman. On 1 January 1996, it formally replaced the GATT Provisional Institutions. The WTO is an international organization with legal personality and has a higher authority in mediating disputes among its members. Its predecessor was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947. In contrast to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the WTO covers trade in goods, trade in services and trade in intellectual property rights, while the GATT only applies to trade in goods and goods.

At 0:00 on December 11, 2001, China officially joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and became its 143rd member.

On November 20, 2001, Michael Moore, Director-General of the WTO, sent a letter to WTO members, announcing that China had accepted the "Protocol on China's Accession to the WTO" on November 11, 2001, and this protocol would enter into force on December 11, and China would formally become a member of the WTO on the same day.

A relevant responsible person of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation said that after China formally becomes a member of the WTO, China will fully participate in all aspects of the WTO's work. In the near future, China will send a permanent delegation of the People's Republic of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and an ambassador to Geneva, Switzerland, where the WTO headquarters is located. China will fully enjoy the rights conferred on its members by the WTO, abide by WTO rules, and conscientiously fulfill its obligations. As a member of the WTO, China will conscientiously and actively participate in the new round of multilateral trade negotiations of the WTO and play an active and constructive role in it together with other members.

It has been learned that the world's leading countries, business circles, social organizations, and celebrities have sent congratulatory letters and telegrams to China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, expressing warm congratulations on China's accession to the WTO, holding that this will not only promote China's own reform, opening up, and economic development, but will also boost confidence in global economic growth, contribute to the development of the multilateral trading system, and make positive contributions to the development of the world economy and trade.

So what exactly is the WTO?

The so-called World Trade Organization (WTO) is a permanent international organization independent of the United Nations. It officially began operation on January 1, 1995, and is responsible for the management of the world economic and trade order, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Leman. On 1 January 1996, it formally replaced the GATT Provisional Institutions. The WTO is an international organization with legal personality and has a higher authority in mediating disputes among its members. Its predecessor was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947. In contrast to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the WTO covers trade in goods, trade in services and trade in intellectual property rights, while the GATT only applies to trade in goods and goods.

WTO membership is divided into four categories: developed, developing, transition economies and least developed. On 7 November 2006, the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held a special session in Geneva and officially announced the admission of Viet Nam as the 150th member of the organization. This brings the total number of full WTO members to 150.

The idea of establishing the WTO was put forward at the Bretton Woods Conference in July 1944, when the establishment of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund was envisaged at the same time as the establishment of an international trade organization, so that they would become the "monetary-financial-trade" triad that dominated the world economy after the Second World War. The Havana Charter, signed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment in 1947, agreed to establish the WTO, which was later failed due to opposition from the United States. In the same year, the United States initiated the drafting of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as a temporary compact to promote trade liberalization. After the launch of the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations in 1986, the European Community and Canada formally proposed the establishment of the WTO in 1990, and the GATT Ministerial Conference held in Marrakesh, Morocco, in April 1994, formally decided to establish the WTO.

From 1947 to 1993, the GATT hosted eight rounds of multilateral tariff and trade negotiations, the eighth of which was held in Geneva from 1986 to 15 December 1993, known as the "Uruguay Round". The fifth round is called the "Dillon Round", the sixth round is called the "Kennedy Round", and the seventh round is called the "Tokyo Round". The WTO, together with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, is known as the three pillars of the world's economic development.

The objectives of the WTO are: to raise living standards, to ensure full employment and a substantial and steady increase in real income and effective demand; expanding production and trade in goods and services; Adhering to the path of sustainable development, all members should promote the optimal use of the world's resources, protect and maintain the environment, and strengthen the adoption of various corresponding measures in a manner that meets the needs of each member at different levels of economic development; Active efforts have been made to ensure that developing countries, especially the least developed countries, receive a share and benefits in the growth of international trade commensurate with their level of economic development.

With the continuous development of the international economy and trade, trade wars in the field of international economy and trade are becoming more and more frequent. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has played an important role in resolving international economic and trade disputes since its establishment. The dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organization is the General Council, which deals with disputes arising around any agreement or agreement included in the Final Act of the Uruguay Round. In accordance with the commitments of the members of the World Trade Organization, in the event of a trade dispute, the parties should not take unilateral action against each other, but seek redress through the dispute settlement mechanism and abide by its rules and the rulings it makes.