WTO needs to come down from "ivory tower" to bring more stakeholders onboard: deputy chief

China

WTO needs to come down from "ivory tower" to bring more stakeholders onboard: deputy chief

2024-09-11 03:14 Last Updated At：14:37

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum 2024, which opened in Geneva on Tuesday, is an open, diverse public forum aimed at breaking down the "WTO ivory tower" and encouraging active participation of more stakeholders, said WTO Deputy Director-General Zhang Xiangchen ahead of the event.

Highlighting the theme "Re-globalization: better trade for a better world," this year's Public Forum aims to explore how re-globalization can make trade more inclusive and ensure that more people benefit from it.

The four-day forum will feature 138 sessions, drawing nearly 4,400 participants from governments, businesses, academia and various sectors of society.

"The WTO was assumed by many people as an ivory tower. Not everybody understands what they are doing in this building. So through some asymmetry, asymmetry of information, asymmetry of knowledge, we need to narrow the gap, and we also need to listen to the voice of the business, the media, the academics, what are their expectations, what are their requests, what are their demands, and then reflect their demands and requests in the WTO negotiations, in the new rules of the negotiations. So, this is a two-way traffic; that's the reason why we organize the public forum. I think the communication between the WTO experts and business, academics, and the media is very necessary for the WTO reform. We need to break the ivory tower and break the silos and to keep this WTO reform process open to the international community," Zhang said in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).

For the voices of developing countries to be effectively heard, they need to clearly articulate their positions and engage positively in negotiations, Zhang said.

"In the WTO, we have developed countries and developing countries. The most important thing is to [synergize] the different groups positions and to take advantage of the platform of the WTO to send their voice in a more concrete and more professional manner, and then to participate in the negotiation in a positive manner, and then to explain their position in a clear way, and to bargain in the negotiation tables for their interest. And I assume that for the developing countries, they have both offensive interest and defensive interest. But if we only focus on the defensive interest, it is difficult for us to have a balanced outcome in the WTO. That's the reason why we encourage all the developing countries, especially African countries, to participate actively, positively in the existing WTO negotiations, including the e-commerce negotiation," he said.

Magnificent Qiantang River tidal bore in east China city amazes holidaymakers

2024-09-17 20:16 Last Updated At：20:37

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holidaymakers have been amazed by the magnificent Qiantang River tidal bore in Haining City of east China's Zhejiang Province, as the "Silver Dragon" ushers in its best viewing season around the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival.

A tidal bore is a phenomenon where the leading edge of an incoming tide creates a wave that surges up a river against the flow.

The centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the Earth and the trumpet shape of the Hangzhou Bay in Zhejiang makes it easy for the tide to come in, but difficult to ebb, thus giving rise to the largest tidal bore, which is called the "Silver Dragon" by locals.

The Qiantang River boasts a variety of tidal types that can be observed from different vantage points, including the criss-cross tidal bore, the one-line tidal bore, the back-flow tidal bore, and the fish scale tidal bore.

The best time to witness the Qiantang River tides is during the eighth month of the traditional Chinese calendar, with the most dramatic display typically occurring on the 18th day of the month, which falls on Sept 20 this year.

Tide-watching has become a grand folk tradition on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival because the best viewing time is close to the celebration date of the festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, in honor of the moon and harvest, is one of the most important Chinese festivals. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It falls on Tuesday this year.

Footage filmed at the Yanguan Tourist Resort in Haining City, a renowned destination where tourists gather to admire the tides every year, on Tuesday showed awe-inspiring scenes of great waves hurtling at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour and splashing against the dam time to time.

The T-shaped dams stretching along the river not only reduce the impact of the surging tide on the river bank but also offer a stunning view of ups and downs of roaring waves.

Strong wind brought by typhoon Bebinca has made the river swell and raised the water level on the river. The latest data showed that Tuesday's tidal bore was even more spectacular than previous days, reaching a height of around one meter.

Local authorities have warned tide-viewers to keep a close eye on the weather and pay attention to safety.