Accession into the WTO: External pressure for internal reforms in China

WTO accession is a blessing to China in that it serves as an effective external pressure to overcome political resistance and to accelerate economic reforms. However, structural, behavioral and cultural constraints will work as an obstacle to China's systemic transmorphosis into a more transparent, fair, efficient, and rule-based economy. In order to overcome such constraints and to reach best possible evolutionary trajectories to a WTO-compatible system, post-accession China is required to focus on social, legal and political system reforms, departing from the previous emphasis on economic reform. Peer pressure from other member countries would also be of additional help. Without fully successful non-economic system reforms, it may go through a period of policy errors and socio-economic instability, contrary to the rosy expectations by casual observers, and the Chinese leadership would find itself trapped and betrayed by its idealized notions of joining WTO to push internal reforms.