The World Trade Organisation in an age of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements:
Is it still relevant to Hong Kong?
Organisers:
Asian Academy of International Law
AAIL Foundation
The world trade order has seen tremendous changes, from the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dealing with the global rules of trade, to the proliferation of multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements. In view of these, this seminar closely examined the relevance of WTO to Hong Kong, not only a major international trading centre, but also one of the founding members of the WTO itself, especially in light of the WTO’s earlier ruling against US’s insistence on labelling Hong Kong goods as ‘Made in China’. With a panel of distinguished moderator and speakers, including Ms Teresa Cheng, Dr James Ding, Professor Chin Leng Lim and Dr Anthony Neoh, it reviewed the historical background of the WTO, reaffirmed Hong Kong’s distinct membership status in its own right and discussed the dispute settlement mechanism, before concluding with an emphasis on upholding the global rule-based multilateral trading system.
What attendees say
• The contents met my needs as the topic was carefully examined from different perspectives – factual, policy, legal, historical as well as forward-looking.
• The seminar was very informative yet concise – it went from the history of the WTO to the current issues. I was fully indebted to the moderator and the speakers who were all experts in this field.
• The importance of Hong Kong as a WTO member in its own right was fully addressed.
The World Trade Organisation in an age of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements: Is it still relevant to Hong Kong?
Dr Anthony Neoh SC JP
The Importance of the WTO to Hong Kong, China: A Government Perspective
Dr James Ding
Made in Hong Kong
Professor Chin Leng Lim
