EU, China urge appointment of WTO appellate body members

GENEVA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU), China and other World Trade Organization (WTO) members on Wednesday delivered a joint statement, emphasizing the urgent need to unblock the appointment of WTO Appellate Body members.

At a meeting of the WTO General Council, those members, including the EU, China, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Republic of Korea, Iceland, Singapore and Mexico, voiced their deep concern that "continued vacancies in the Appellate Body present a risk to the WTO as a whole."

While reaffirming their commitment to the rules-based multilateral trading system, they underscored the dispute settlement system as a central pillar of the WTO.

"Such a system is also essential in building confidence amongst members in the negotiating pillar," said the statement.

The members took note of the concerns about the functioning of the dispute settlement system, saying that they are "ready to work on solutions, while preserving the essential features of the system and of its Appellate Body."