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against one country when other major trading partners do not. And the examples of the East European state trading countries
show how difficult it is to devise additional rules which can
bite on an economy run on lines not foreseen by GATT. In China's case, there are two additional problems.
17. First, China may seek to argue that she is applying not as
a new member but for the right to take up the Chinese seat left vacant since Nationalist China's departure in 1950, and that she
will simply pay the arrears of subscriptions and negotiate terms to take account of her own present circumstances. A negotiation on this basis would start from the unwelcome premise that special terms should be limited to a minimum, and that Article XXXV could
not apply. But it is most unlikely that Contracting Parties would tolerate Chinese entry by this route, and they would have what looks like a sound legal case for refusing. The 1950 withdrawal was a valid act by the UN-recognised Government of China, and the People's Republic has since taken no action to preserve any rights
in GATT. The Contracting Parties have not acted as if there were
a vacant seat: unanimous decisions have been taken, and tariff
preferences enjoyed by Taiwan before 1950 have since been revoked by several CPs (including the UK, France and the US .....). None of this could have happened had Peking merely been leaving an "empty chair",
18. A second, inescapable constraint on the scope for negotiating effective special terms for China is her status as a Developing Country. As such, she would benefit from the special provisions in Part IV of the GATT, the most significant of which is that LDCs are not expected to provide any reciprocal concessions as a condition of enjoying the rights of membership. Even current efforts to secure "graduation" of NICs would not affect China,
with her huge peasant population and very low per capita GDP. Since the terms of accession are agreed by a majority of Contracting Parties, the Developing Countries would be able to guarantee the explicit recognition of Part IV principles in any
protocol.
19. Within these constraints, what special terms could be considered? Normal GATT rules are intended to govern trading
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