China's accession to WTO benefits all, says former WTO head

PARIS -- All economies have benefited from China's accession to the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy, a former WTO director-general, told French daily Le Monde recently.

"This entry has boosted global economic growth," Lamy, who served as head of the WTO from 2005 to 2013, said in the interview published on Dec 10.

"China modernized its economy through the import of capital goods and technologies, while consumers around the world benefited from China's low price goods," he said.

"In general, all world economies have benefited from it," Lamy said.

Speaking of the future of the WTO, Lamy criticized the United States for "being absent."

"The United States seems to want to use its foreign economic policy, including trade, as a diplomatic weapon, hence its refusal of WTO constraints," he said.

"The multilateral framework is irreplaceable. It cannot be replaced by bilateral (ones)," he stressed.