Greater Uniformity and Centralization: The Regulatory Development of Chinese Food and Product Safety under the WTO

Authors

Nga Kit (Christy) Tang

Abstract

The WTO Agreements emphasize free trade, which links with diversity, deregulation, and decentralization. China, on the other hand, emphasizes uniformity and centralization, especially regarding the political control and the one-party system of “democratic dictatorship.” China’s joining the WTO, therefore, may be considered as a development that changes the regulatory structure to become more diverse, deregulated, and decentralized. This paper, however, finds the opposite. Under the WTO law, China is encouraged to move towards greater uniformity and centralization with its decentralized and non-uniform settings under the market policy. Moreover, the WTO’s uniform and centralized encouragements can be integrated into the rule-by-man framework to increase the administrative and economic power of the Party. It is thus unclear whether China’s food and product safety problem can be solved.

First Page

65

Recommended Citation

Nga Kit (Christy) Tang, Greater Uniformity and Centralization: The Regulatory Development of Chinese Food and Product Safety under the WTO, 28 Wash. Int’l L.J. 65 (2019).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj/vol28/iss1/4