The 30 commitment areas included market  access, investment measures, fundamental market, and rule of law-related  reforms. At least three quarters of respondents  selected intellectual property rights; consistent application of laws,  regulations, and practices; and transparency most frequently when asked  to rate the importance of individual commitment areas to their companies  (based on a list of 30 WTO-related commitment areas that we specified in  the survey). Furthermore, companies generally expected that their  business activities in China would increase as a result of China’s  implementation of its WTO commitments, including their volume of  exports to China, market share in China, and distribution of products there. Some companies had already experienced an  impact, and most companies expected to begin to experience an impact  within the next few years. When asked what impact they expected China’s WTO commitments would  have on their companies, most survey respondents reported that they  expected a positive or very positive impact. Company Views on Impact

Company representatives that we interviewed in China made comments  that lend support to the general expectation that change will be positive,  but many believed that China’s implementation would be incremental and  would be tempered by China’s desire to protect its workers. Respondents also expected some non  rule-of-law-related commitment areas to be relatively difficult for Chinese  officials to implement. Specifically, our analysis identified rule of law-related  commitment areas as the commitment areas of greatest importance to  respondents’ companies and also showed that respondents expected these  reforms to be the most difficult for China to implement, as shown in table 5. Concluding Observations

If implemented, China’s commitments will open China’s economy and  reform its trading activities, thereby expanding U.S. companies’  opportunities for investing in China and for exporting goods, agricultural  products, and services to China. Understanding U.S. companies’  expectations is fundamental for policymakers to judge the degree to which  the benefits of China’s WTO membership are being realized. Our objectives  for this initial preparatory survey were to assess U.S. businesses’ (1) views  about the importance of WTO-related commitments to their business  operations in China, (2) views about the anticipated effects of China’s  WTO-related reforms on their businesses, and (3) opinions regarding  China’s prospects for implementing these reforms. To respond to our  objectives, we mailed surveys to 551 selected chief executive officers  (CEO) or presidents of U.S. companies with a presence in China;  conducted structured interviews in China with representatives of 48 U.S.  companies, two foreign-owned companies with operations in the United  States and China, and representatives of two U.S. trade associations with  representative offices in China; met with representatives of other U.S.  business associations in China and the United States; and considered other  surveys of U.S. businesses in China. World Trade Organization (WTO)
Please designate one person to have overall commitments. Immediately/ Has already occurred       1. Why? 2. Transparency of laws, regulations, & practices    (publishing and making publicly available) 26.
Why GAO Did This Study

China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 11, 2001, brought the world's seventh largest economy under global trade liberalizing rules. If implemented, China's commitments will open China's economy and reform its trading activities, thereby expanding U.S. companies' opportunities for investing in China and for exporting goods, agricultural products, and services to China. Understanding U.S. companies' expectations is fundamental for policymakers to judge the degree to which the benefits of China's WTO membership are being realized. GAO analyzed U.S. companies' views about (1) the importance of, (2) the anticipated effects of, and (3) prospects for China implementing its WTO commitments. GAO surveyed a random sample of 551 U.S. companies and interviewed 48 judgmentally selected companies in four cities in China. Survey results reflect responses from 191 companies--a response rate of 38 percent--and may not reflect the views of all U.S. companies with activities in China.

What GAO Found

U.S. companies that responded to the GAO survey reported that most of China's WTO commitments are important to them. These companies, which already have a presence in China, identified rule of law--related reforms as more important than other reforms to increase market access, to liberalize foreign investment measures, and to make fundamental changes to continue China's transition to a market economy. Specifically, WTO commitments in the areas of intellectual property rights; consistent application of laws, regulations, and practices; and transparency of laws, regulations, and practices emerged as the most important areas in which China made commitments. Most companies responding to GAO's survey expected that China's WTO commitments would have a positive impact on their business operations, that the impact has already begun or would begin within 2 years and that it would lead to an increase in their volume of exports to China, market share in China, and distribution of products there. However, some company representatives whom GAO interviewed in China believed that China's implementation would be incremental. Survey respondents expected that most of the WTO--related commitment areas listed in GAO's survey would be difficult for Chinese officials to implement. Companies expected the important rule of law--related commitment areas to be the most difficult commitments to carry out and had mixed expectations about implementation for different government levels and geographic areas across China. Besides rule of law--related reforms, company representatives described how they expect that China's need to protect its domestic interests and China's culture with regards to business relationships might create impediments to implementation.