Sociology

Joining the world trade organization (WTO) is one of the critical decisions made by china in the dawn of the twenty first century. China joined the WTO immediately after establishing trade relations with the united sates of America in the year 2000 (Wang 2009 663). This was a very beneficial move to the republic of china since they both (china and the US) have the same economic strengths. The republic of China plays a very vital role in the promotion of global economy. Upon becoming a member of the WTO china opened up its markets to the world (Wang 2009 680). This has seen a shift in the economic position of china. China benefits greatly from its exports and has promoted the growth of technology in the whole world since it is the leading exporter of ICT products (Martin 200998). However this move was received with different perspectives. Some people realized that the move was a positive decision for the development of chinas economy whilst others claimed that it will destroy the domestic sector of the economy due to concentration on foreign trade (DeWoiskin 200134).

The WTO on Chinas economy
In joining, China was subjected to various accession conditions as required by the WTO. This included
Reducing tariffs on imports  Regarding to this, china accepted to reduce its tariffs on both the agricultural division from 31.5 to more than half (14.5) and the industrial division from 25 to 7.(Chow 200922)
Open the Chinese domestic trade market to allow foreign institutions and individuals to trade directly without limitations. Investors from outside the country were granted the opportunity to own shares equivalent to 40 of the nominal shares in commercial banks and other lending institutions. This is one of the many benefits foreign investors enjoy from china.

China was subjected to open its telecommunications and financial sectors for the rest of the world to participate in (Supachai 200318).

China was subjected to reform its whole system in terms of transparency and its trade laws. This was aimed at removing the limitations other countries were facing when doing business with china.

To implement a safe system of trade which the world trade organization members and the USA (being the biggest beneficiary from china) will continue to use in a non market economy to determine the level of dumping against china for the next fifteen years. As provided in the system, members of the WTO can ban goods from china that have a negative impact to their markets (Wang 2009 688).

In return, china was to benefit from the lifting of quotas in its clothes and textiles exportations. This has been very beneficial to china in the sense that the textile and information sectors have recorded a tremendous growth in their contribution to the gross domestic product in the past three years.

The main idea for joining the WTO was to hasten the economical reforms in the industrial and servicing sector. The competition brought about by the foreign investors in the market has promoted efficiency in terms of deliverance and quality. The following are the main benefits the Chinese economy has gained from joining the WTO.

Globalization- the Chinese economy has benefited greatly from the ongoing globalization in the world. The main beneficiaries of globalization are the countries with high technological know how and cheap labor. China in that category boasts of both. Chinas cheap labor is borne by the high population in the country (China comprises 13 of the worlds population). That explains why Motorola the largest American investment in china did not set up its facilities in the United States but instead chose China. The reason behind this was to benefit from the advanced level of technology in china. Thanks to globalization, china has been able to move from a planned economy to a socialist market economy. Globalization has seen the economy of China grow sixteen times to reach number seven in the world from thirty two Chow, Gregory (2002). Business process output bears its roots in China. Foreign firms are directing their large volumes of data to be done in china due to the presence of advanced technology and cheap labor in the country.

Stable economic relationships with other countries  By joining the WTO, China has been enjoying the benefits of a free market. Ever since china has been an investment destination for foreign investors. This has greatly influenced the growth of the economy of china (DeWoiskin 200144). China has established very strong business links with other countries over time. This has also seen china investing very largely in growing economies like Africa. For example, china has immensely invested in the war-torn Southern Sudan region for its oil and precious stones. Although these have been termed by many as exploitation it is one of the many benefits of globalization to the bigger economies.By joining the WTO saw the relationship between china and the United States shift places (Sutter 200845). The United States is the biggest beneficiary from china. This was evident in the way the United States aided the negotiations between WTO and china but not WTO and Taiwan (both china and Taiwan were accepted on board at the same time). The United States exports most of its agricultural products from china.

High speed reforms in the economy- Joining the WTO boosted the economy reforms in the republic of china (Naughton 200646). This was aided by the increased competition China has faced domestically and internationally. Foreign investors streaming in the country has forced the local investors to perform to their level best. This has improved the level of production and the quality of goods and services. Joining the WTO led to the re-structuring of some industries in order to fit the international standards.The World Bank and other international bodies have increased their participation in china. The World Bank has been working been working closely with the Chinese government in a move to improve the speed of economy reforms in the country (Supachai 200382). Through the IMF china has received a lot of funding to boost the ICT industry which is a major contributor to the economy of china. As expected this economic reforms has yielded positive results and the economy of china is in a very stable state.

Long-term Growth- Chinas decision to join the world trade organization was not based on short-term goals but long-term (Supachai 200388). The increase in the level of competition has led the adoption of world class system of doing things. In return this has led to the formation. This has placed the country in a very strategic position to compete with other world class firms locally and abroad. At the same time, this process has edged out non performing firms. The law of protection has been fully in practice in china since it joined the WTO. By the time china joined the WTO its economy was in a developing state and it needed to protect its young and indigenous firms from unhealthy competition. The firms that wee young by then have evolved to become multinationals. An example of these companies is the thermo fisher company which has grown to become the worlds leading provider in science related services.

The WTO on chinas politics
Joining the WTO recorded a turning point for china. This has affected all the major sectors in the country including the political arena. In the process of accession, China was forced to adopt various changes in its constitution. By becoming a member of the WTO china wanted to compete with the United States of America. China is currently enjoying the benefits of participating in international trade decisions. Joining the WTO had a lot of political motives. Big firms and corporations backed the leaders who were advocating for the accession to take place. These firms knew that by china going global it would increase their market outreach. These leaders were to be rewarded in return by these corporations. However the WTO may have not played a direct role in influencing certain political activities, it has somehow aided in various political decisions of the country. WTO accelerated liberalization in chinas politics. Rowman, Littlefield (200835) affirms that WTO has really affected politics in china. The china congress party has been able to control the circulation of politically sensitive information on the internet. The use of internet has been motivated by globalization. The government of china is using the internet to market its products globally (Wu 200376).

China has encouraged widely the use of internet to promote the telecommunication industry in a move to modernize the economy of the country. The benefits of WTO to the economy conflicts the interests of the government. Recently the information and communications minister was quoted saying that China has been unable to contain its own press and blamed this on the freedom brought about by globalization. He claimed that the media of the country does not follow orders from the government but instead is dictated by the market. The accession to the WTO saw difficulties in the government in administering certain rules and regulations (Wang 2009 680). Some of these laws were lifted or replaced by the ones of the WTO.

The WTO on chinas social life
The accession of the WTO and china has led to improved living conditions for the people of China. There is increased distribution of wealth in the country and the gap between the rich and the poor has been bridged. People are exercising personal liberty due to the reforms in the market Li et al (200924) discusses the benefits of WTO on peoples lives. A number of self help groups have been erected in a move to unite the people and foster relationships. Non governmental organizations have partnered with these groups in a bid to address the needs of the people. These NGOs has improved the degree of creativity through offering entrepreneurship education to the people. In return this has increased productivity both in the rural and urban areas. The formation of these social groups has been greatly discredited by the government. The government thinks that some of these groups have political affiliation in them. The labor organization has been able express the needs of the workers with great freedom. This is because of the adoption of international human resource laws enacted by the WTO. A lot of jobs have been created due to trade liberalization and creation of an open market economy. As a result of globalization, the demand for Chinese products abroad has been increased. This has led to an increased demand for more labor in order increase production to satisfy the global market.

The WTO on chinas education sector
Joining the WTO has brought many changes in the education sector of the country. Chinas system of education has been forced to introduce teaching of foreign languages in their syllabus. Education and economic developed are inter-related and both rely on each other. China has put in place several strategies to prioritize the development of education. China has benefited from the introduction of high quality education from other countries. This is due to the provisions in the cross-border supply law implemented by the WTO between member states (Wu 200376). China is now reaping the benefits of long distance education from the first member party. This broadens knowledge and increases creativity. The number of students going to study abroad has increased gradually over the past three years. China is targeting countries like Japan and the United States so as to gain from their advanced technological level. China has invested a lot in the education sector. The minister of education recently stated that China considers education as a long term investment. China has introduced a number of foreign languages in their curriculum. This has led to increased level of communication in making business transactions. China considers the knowledge of a foreign language as a tool to inter-relate science and information technology. An example of the benefits of the WTO on education is during the Beijing 2008 Olympics. As huge numbers of people jetted in the country, travel agents and hotels needed to employ staff who knew different languages. All the individuals who could speak a different language apart from Chinese were taken aboard in order to facilitate communication. Since then the republic of china saw the need to invest more in foreign languages to avoid the last minute rush. Currently, china is the greatest mover on the introduction of foreign languages in education globally.

After 15 years of struggle, china was finally accepted as a member of the WTO in the year 2001. This was a turning point for both china and the member states of the WTO. The accession brought with itself the benefits of an open market. It opened doors for the Chinese investors to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in international trade. China has been enjoying the benefits of the protection laws imposed by the WTO. Demand for Chinese products abroad has been met through the acceleration of export procedures. The agreement brought with itself employment opportunities. This is evident in the rate at which rural urban migration is taking place. WTO in china has led to improved living conditions. The social life in china has been fostered through the accession of the agreement. By joining the WTO china has been fully involved in global decision making on matters relating to trade (Joseph 2001169). Being one of the greatest economies in the world, china enjoys great benefits from the WTO in terms of market dominance (Aldrich 200167). China has become the centre for global production of agricultural and ICT products. This has seen the economy of china grow in a very alarming rate in a very short time.