A Political Anatomy of China’s Compliance in WTO Disputes

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the ongoing debate over China’s behaviour in the multilateral trading system established by the World Trade Organization (WTO). It offers a systemic review of all completed WTO disputes against China in the past two decades and a critical analysis of four political factors embedded in China’s impressive record of compliance. In doing so, it develops an analytical framework for future studies on China’s approaches to WTO compliance and its interaction with international trade rules more broadly. While China’s trade policy has become more sensitive to the changing external environment, this framework will remain highly relevant to studies of China’s behaviour on trade and other economic matters and ways to engage with the emerging global superpower in the years ahead.