In November 2018, the US, EU, and Japan planned to finalize the WTO reform plan at the summit meeting on WTO reform in Paris. The issue of subsidies was undoubtedly an important part of the said plan. According to WTO data the anti-subsidy investigations initiated by the US against China top the list in both quantity and amount.

Regarding the issue, Shanghai Academy invited Professor Ying Pinguang from Shanghai University of International Business and Economics to overview the anti-subsidy appeals of the developed economies led by the US at the WTO level, who further proposed four countermeasures. First, China should make full use of free trade agreements to limit the use of trade remedies by contracting parties; second, China should form an “alliance” with the EU as much as possible in anti-subsidy rules targeted at state-owned enterprises; third, China should urge governments at different levels to develop guidance documents in compliance with relevant rules; fourth, China should reduce the procedural defects in anti-subsidy investigations.