China to Stop Seeking Benefits From Its Developing Nation Status in New WTO Agreements

Regime officials said it will remain a developing nation in the global trade body, despite being the world’s second biggest economy.

Li Chenggang, China's International Trade Negotiator and Vice Minister of Commerce, speaks during a press conference in Beijing on July 18, 2025. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese authorities have said that the country will not seek special and differential treatment in new agreements by using its self-proclaimed developing nation status at the World Trade Organization (WTO), a change the United States has long called for.

At the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced that Beijing will no longer seek “any new special and differential treatment” in current and future WTO negotiations. The announcement did not include existing agreements.