Overview

• Premier Li Qiang announced the shift at a China-hosted forum on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, according to Xinhua.
• WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala praised the move as the culmination of years of work and called it major news for reform.
• Special and Differential Treatment lets developing members keep higher tariffs and use broader subsidies, benefits China says it will no longer seek in current or new agreements.
• Washington has argued that meaningful WTO reform requires major economies to relinquish such flexibilities, a position reiterated in coverage of the decision.
• Members now turn to negotiations to translate the pledge into binding text before the 2026 meeting, with attention on how other self-identified developing countries respond.