On August 30, 2019, the Seminar on the Practice of International Law in China sponsored by the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University was successfully held in Wuhan. Professor Shen Zhuanghai, the vice secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan University, attended the conference. Nine international law experts from five domestic universities delivered speeches on China's practice of international law and China-US trade war and discussed relevant issues.
At first, Shen Zhuanghai, the deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan University, addressed the conference. He said that the theme of the seminar focused on the rule of law in China and international community. As a national high-end think tank, the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University had the ability to clarify relevant issues. Finally, Prof. Shen sincerely wished the seminar a complete success and expressed his sincere thanks to all experts and friends.
The theme of the first unit of the conference was "China's Contribution to the International Rule of Law". Professor Zhang Hui, the vice director of the Institute of International Law，made a theme report. He thought that after the founding of New China, especially since the reform and opening up, with the continuous development of China's social economy, China has made its own unique contribution to promoting the development of the rule of law in the international community.
The theme of the second unit of the conference was "An Investigation of China's Implementation of WTO Obligations". Professor Kong Qingjiang made a report entitled "An Investigation of China's Records of Compliance with WTO Rules". He pointed out that since its accession to WTO, China had fulfilled its obligations under the WTO Protocol and WTO Agreements.
Professor Qi Tong took the service industry as an example, pointing out that China had widely opened its service market to the outside world.
Professor Nie Jianqiang thought that technical cooperation and other economic cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises were contractual acts based on the principle of voluntariness, from which both enterprises have gained practical benefits.
Professor Zuo Haicong said that, firstly, China had a fine tradition of abiding by international commitments and obligations; secondly, China's violations of WTO rules are rare and China had less pressure to act adverse rulings; thirdly, China considered not only national interests, but also international obligations and international reputation.
Professor He Xiaoyong pointed out that the accusations made by the United States against China's industrial policies and domestic subsidies were totally ridiculous.
The theme of the third unit of the conference was "International Law Analysis of Unilateral Trade Measures in China-US Trade Frictions". Professor Zhang Qinglin made a report. In his opinion, It was absurd that the United States accused China of being a "currency manipulator", because the allegation lacked not only factual basis, but also legal basis.
Professor Huang Zhixiong expressed his view subsequently. Some people in the United States knew clearly that unilateral trade measures and tariff escalation measures taken by the United States were unpopular, so they attached great importance to the use of international rules for "legitimate packaging".
Professor Xiao Yongping also delivered a speech. In his report, "Not willing to fight" reflected China's good will to uphold the principles of international law such as win-win cooperation and safeguard the multilateral trading system; "not afraid to fight" demonstrated China's standpoint of opposing internationally wrongful acts and promoting the construction of new international relations; "having to fight when necessary" reflected that China would safeguard its core interests in accordance with international law.
The seminar attracted extensive attention of the media, and relevant reports have been made by News Broadcasting, CCTV, Xinhua net, People's Daily, Guangming Daily and Economic Daily.
Edited by Su Yi & Wu Liuqing
