Wu Yi

吴仪

1938–present

Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (1993–2003)
Vice Premier of the State Council (2003–2008)

Biography

Wu Yi (born 1938) served as Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation from 1993 to 2003 and as Vice Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2008. In the process of China's WTO accession, she represented China as minister in signing the China–US bilateral market access agreement with US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky in Beijing on 15 November 1999 — the decisive breakthrough in the accession negotiations. Wu Yi was known for her pragmatic style and firm negotiating stance, and played a central role in China–US trade negotiations over many years.

Related Events (1)

2001-12-11

China Joins the World Trade Organization

After 15 years of negotiations, China formally became the 143rd member of the World Trade Organization in December 2001, committing to reduce tariffs, open its markets, and accept the disciplines of the multilateral trading system.

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