Good timing was more crucial than a perfect result, said Wei Jianguo, a former Chinese deputy minister of commerce, commenting on China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) 10 years ago.

"Without entering the WTO, China could not have become either the world's second-largest economy or its largest exporter. The benefits China gained are much greater than its losses," Wei said.

It took China about 15 years to join the WTO and the most strenuous part of the negotiations was with the United States 12 years ago, said Wei, then an assistant minister who was involved in the negotiations in Beijing.

On Nov 14, 1999, negotiations between the Chinese and the US delegations were on the verge of breaking down as the two sides could not reach consensus on disputes over a host of issues, including a special protectionism tariff, transitional provisions and entry criteria.

The US delegates had already packed their luggage and were preparing to return home the next day. Under the persistence of the Chinese, at 3 am on Nov 15, both sides restarted talks.

"It was an extremely long day and a turning point of the negotiation," Wei recalled.

That morning, the negotiators were informed that then Premier Zhu Rongji's car was drawing near and he would join the negotiation, which had been a sudden decision.

The two sides stepped up the negotiations after the participation of such a top-level decision-maker and it took less than one hour for the US side to agree to reach a final settlement.

The following rounds of bilateral and multilateral negotiations went forward more smoothly, and about a year later, in November 2001, China joined the WTO at the Doha Ministerial Meeting. "From then on, China's economy began to really connect and integrate with the global economy and inject enormous energy into globalization," Wei said.

However, the public questioned whether China had made too many concessions in the negotiations in areas ranging from agriculture to trade policies.

The adverse effects of some of the policies on China's industries and trade have gradually become apparent. The annual US Special 301 report on trade was given as an example.

"The deficiency might lie in that we didn't have enough time to carry out sufficient communications and consultations with related departments, but they were the best results we could reach at the time," Wei said.

Challenges ahead

China has produced great achievements after entering the organization 10 years ago, but the country is expected to encounter more challenges and pressures in the next 10 years, Wei said.

Wei is now secretary-general of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a government think tank.

The US was not only the most difficult opponent across the bargaining table, but also has been the toughest partner in the business world, he said.

"The US used to advocate free trade, but it is inclined to merely promote free trade in areas where it possesses strengths while adopting increasingly protectionist measures in its weak industries, such as agriculture and textiles," Wei said.

For instance, to improve the competitive edge of its agricultural products, the US not only subsidizes the final product, but also offers subsidies to water and electricity charges, imposing great pressure on countries that export grains. It also implements stringent control over high-tech product exports.

"That's a product of the Cold War and hasn't changed for 30 years, indicating that the US has yet to develop correct judgment on its long-term strategic relationship with China," Wei said.

The Chinese market is the final hope for US President Barack Obama's plan to double exports over the next five years, but the US must lift restrictions on exports of high-tech products to China, he said.

At the same time, the bleak outlook for the European market is another big challenge for China's economic growth.

Europe, China's biggest trading partner, is experiencing its worst slowdown since World War II, amid a continuing debt crisis and a beleaguered financial system, he said.

Trade between China and Europe was worth almost $480 billion in 2010, or 16.1 percent of the country's total trade volume.

"Growth in emerging markets will not compensate for China's losses in Europe," Wei said.