This event symbolized China’s formal entry' into the global economic arena. It included, in particular, the granting of Permanent Normal Trade Relations status with the United States - its largest single trading partner. This normalization removed the uncertainties in bilateral trade relations between these two large economies, and played a key role in the rapid increase of FDI to China, which accelerated production-sharing across East Asia.11 China’s accession to the WTO also implied the eventual elimination of discriminatory', WTO-inconsistent measures against its exports within an agreed time frame.