Green Box Support Measures Under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Chinese Agricultural Sustainable Development

The report analyzes the impact of WTO accession on Chinese agriculture, noting that while it promotes commercialization and efficiency, it may aggravate rural poverty and ecological degradation. It examines China's current use of Green Box measures—primarily focused on infrastructure and food reserves—and argues that these measures should be expanded to include income support and environmental protection. The authors contend that the current WTO Green Box framework is biased toward developed nations and call for stricter criteria to prevent trade distortion and greater flexibility for developing countries to achieve domestic policy goals.

• China's accession to the WTO necessitates a comprehensive overhaul of agricultural policies to comply with the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), including removing state-set prices for major products, reducing tariffs, lifting export subsidies, and limiting domestic agricultural support to 8.5 per cent.
• WTO accession is expected to trigger long-term structural changes in Chinese agriculture, such as a shrinking share of agriculture in the national GDP, a decline in grain production acreage, and a shift toward labour-intensive crops for export.
• Between 1996 and 1998, Green Box expenditure averaged 14.2 per cent of total government budgetary expenditures, with approximately 60 per cent of these measures focused on infrastructure construction and domestic food reserves to ensure food security.
• China has not adopted Green Box measures directly linked to producers' income, such as decoupled income support or safety-net programs, due to financial and administrative constraints and the fact that it is one of the world's poorest countries.
• The effectiveness of China's Green Box measures is undermined by administrative issues, including the diversion of research funds for staff remuneration, a focus on subsidizing distribution over production, and the continued imposition of high agricultural taxes (RMB 40 billion from agricultural tax alone) that make overall support negative.
• The authors argue that the WTO's Green Box qualifications are based on logical ranking rather than economic analysis, meaning these measures can still distort production and trade through their impact on farmer wealth, expectations, and risks.
• The current Green Box framework is biased toward developed countries, as developing nations often lack the fiscal capacity or administrative infrastructure (such as income registration systems) to implement these measures.

APA

Yumin, Z., Hongxia, W., & Mayu, L. (2003). Green Box Support Measures Under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Chinese Agricultural Sustainable Development. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_greenbox_china_sum.pdf

Chicago

Yumin, Zhao, Wang Hongxia, and Linxuegui Mayu. Green Box Support Measures Under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Chinese Agricultural Sustainable Development. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2003. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_greenbox_china_sum.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yumin |first1=Zhao |last2=Hongxia |first2=Wang |last3=Mayu |first3=Linxuegui |title=Green Box Support Measures Under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Chinese Agricultural Sustainable Development |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=June 2003 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_greenbox_china_sum.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yumin2003green, author = {Yumin, Zhao and Hongxia, Wang and Mayu, Linxuegui}, title = {{Green Box Support Measures Under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Chinese Agricultural Sustainable Development}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2003}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_greenbox_china_sum.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }