On October 16, 2025, at the invitation of the Permanent Mission of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO), WTO Co-Chair, Professor Ji Wenhua of the School of Law at UIBE delivered a special lecture for the Chinese-government-hosted “Workshop on the Theory and Practice of the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism.”

This workshop was organized by the Permanent Mission of China to the WTO. The participants were highly qualified and professionally experienced, comprising more than a dozen senior diplomats from Permanent Missions to the WTO hailing from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The curriculum focused on the operational practice, reform directions, and future prospects of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, with the aim of deepening developing-country Members’ understanding of and engagement with the multilateral trading system.

Under the title “WTO Dispute Settlement: Sharing National Experiences and China’s Perspective,” Professor Ji began with the operational workflow of the mechanism and expounded upon its institutional design, functional role, and real-world challenges. Building on China’s experience in participating in the system, he concentrated on the key elements required to make effective use of the mechanism, including institution-building, research coordination, litigation strategy, inter-agency coordination, and capacity building.

During the lecture, Professor Ji also engaged in in-depth exchanges with participant representatives, leading to lively discussions on Members’ experience-sharing and pathways for reforming the mechanism. Ambassador Adamu Mohammed of Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the WTO, Ambassador Fancy Chepkemoi Too of Kenya’s Permanent Mission to the WTO, and several other diplomats took the floor in succession. The atmosphere was vibrant and the exchange yielded positive outcomes.

Professor Ji’s lecture not only showcased the deep scholarly accumulation and academic influence of UIBE’s School of Law and the Institute for Foreign-related Rule of Law in the field of WTO law, but also demonstrated a strong sense of mission in actively serving major national strategies, participating in global economic and trade governance, and contributing to the improvement of the multilateral trading system. It provided robust intellectual and technical support for China’s rule-of-law development and cooperation on international rules in the sphere of multilateral trade.

Link: http://law.uibe.edu.cn/xwzx/xzhd/626ad29ce9b540b3a7e9627e4167a47a.htm