Trade disputes and quality upgrading in China. Who loses and who gains?

特朗普政府引发的贸易战对国际贸易平衡的稳定构成了严重风险，挑战了世界贸易组织（WTO）为全球贸易的顺利运作提供明确监管基础的能力（斯蒂格利茨，2018）。 在揭示贸易秩序脆弱性的决定因素中，中国于2001年加入世贸组织被明确地称为主要的破坏性力量之一。事实上，全球贸易体系的一体化以及西方国家与中国贸易的日益增加带来了一系列附带影响。Autor et al.（2011）提出的“中国人综合症”（Chinese'Syndrome）将美国国内劳动力市场效应描述为进口竞争加剧引发的。其他主要担忧涉及中国在劳动力市场政策方面的重大变革步伐缓慢，以及非贸易壁垒的持续存在。多边谈判表现不佳，虽然促进了贸易协定的复苏，但决定了争端解决机构（DSB）的使用增加，其特点是针对中国的调查升级。目前，中国作为被告方参与了43起案件，占总数的三分之一（大多数争端由欧盟和美国提起）。针对中国的激烈和不成比例的行动表明了申诉国的战略行为，DSB在限制自由裁量的贸易政策方面发挥了重要作用。美国目前试图阻止DSB法官的任命，其目的可能是通过减缓DSB的活动来进一步破坏整个组织。

The trade war triggered by the Trump administration is posing serious risks to the stability of the international trade balance, challenging the capacity of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to provide a clear regulatory ground for the smooth functioning of global trade (Stiglitz, 2018). Among the determinants which revealed the vulnerability of the trade order, China's accession to WTO in 2001 is unambiguously claimed as one of the major disruptive forces. Indeed, the integration within the global trade system and the increasing exposure of western countries to trade with China came with a series of collateral effects. The Chinese'Syndrome, as coined by Autor et al. (2011), describes the US domestic labor market effects as triggered by the rise in import competition. Other main concerns relate to the slow pace at which China is delivering significant changes in its labor market policies and the persistence of its non`trade barriers. The poor performance of multilateral negotiations, while fostering a revival of trade agreements, determined a rise in the use of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB)1, characterized by an escalation of investigations against China. Currently, China is involved in 43 cases as respondent party, a third of the total (with most disputes lodged by the EU and US). The intense and disproportionate action against China suggests a strategic behavior of the complainant countries, with the DSB playing an instrumental and prominent role in limiting discretionary trade policies. The current USA's attempt to block the appointment of judges to the DSB may be intended as a way to further undermine, by slowing the DSB activity, the whole Organization.