當前，國際貿易“規則之爭”已超越“市場之爭”，正在成為新一輪全球化博弈角力點。一方面，全球貿易增長則更為緩慢。根據世界貿易組織（WTO）發佈的全球貿易增長預測，2014年和2015年全球貿易額增長預期分別為3.1%和4%，遠遠低於2008年金融危機前10年平均貿易年增長率6.7%的水平。

另一方面，全球貿易秩序也處於前所未有的新的調整時期。新一代國際貿易規則演進趨勢將是以區域貿易規則創建為基礎，輔以規範某一領域的諸邊貿易規則的發展，通過貨物貿易、投資、服務貿易規則的融合後逐漸形成新的多邊貿易規則，全球貿易保護主義會更加激烈和隱蔽，從自由貿易轉向規則貿易。

金融危機以來，全球區域自貿協定競爭趨於激烈。美國等發達國家通過主導跨太平洋夥伴關係協議（TPP）、跨大西洋貿易與投資夥伴關係協議（TTIP）、諸（多）邊服務業協議（TISA）等貿易投資協定談判，力圖推行代表發達國家利益的高標準的貿易投資規則。未來“規則之爭”已經超越了“市場之爭”，成為新一輪全球化博弈的角力點。

特別是隨着全球價值鏈的高速發展，各國為了獲取更大的本國利益和附加價值發起的技術標準、知識產權保護等顯性和隱性貿易摩擦手段更受青睞。例如，技術性貿易壁壘數量越來越多，WTO範圍內TBT（技術性貿易壁壘協定）和SPS（實施衛生與植物衛生措施協定）通報越來越多。數據顯示，2000年 TBT通報量為606件， SPS通報量為 270件，到 2012年TBT和 SPS分別上升到 2185件和 1214件，分別增長2.6倍和 3.5倍，兩者合計從876件增加到 3399件，增長了2.9倍。

從大的趨勢上看，國際貿易新規則體系強調貨物貿易、投資和服務規則的整合。在投資領域，強化對投資者利益的保護；在服務貿易領域，採用負面清單方式，建立全面的、高標準的服務貿易自由化。目前正在談判的最重要的多邊協議是諸（多）邊服務業協議（PSA），信息技術協定第二部（ITA2），政府採購協議（GPA），以及環境商品協議（EGA）——也將為雙邊和多邊貿易談判提供重要動力。

服務貿易協定（PSA）。在全球服務業產值中美、歐、日佔去2/3以上，具有絕對至上的大市場和話語權。PSA未來的談判內容主要包括金融、快遞、傳播、電信、電子商務、運輸、觀光、物聯網、移動通信網絡、互聯網等等所有服務業領域；TPP 、TTIP 、PSA等都涉及國家、經濟體間的公平競爭、數碼貿易、物聯網、環境、能源等領域的服務業問題,因此，服務貿易協定可以被視為是美國重構全球貿易規則的核心。

第二部信息技術協定（ITA2）致力於減少或消除在多類先進的信息技術產品上的關稅，包括了80個國家。第一部信息技術協定於1997年開始生效；這項新協議旨在擴大產品覆蓋範圍，進而實現囊括全球97%IT產品的目標。中國承諾擴展貿易壁壘自由化的IT產品範圍。然而，由於中國和韓國不能在關於有機發光二極管（OLED）技術和產品的重要關稅細目上達成共識，第二部信息技術協定談判沒有達成。只有等到在一些高價值關稅細目上的爭議解決，才有可能合作完成談判。

此外，政府採購協定（GPA）加入非常困難的協議。取消對政府採購的限制，既有利於政府更高效地配置資源，也會減少在競標政府合同中的腐敗風險。根據2001年加入WTO的文件，中國同意“儘快”加入政府採購協定。中國已經就政府採購協定的加入問題進行了多年的談判；儘管中國最近提出擴大國際規則對省級政府的約束範圍，但仍未能讓其他政府採購協定成員國滿意，因此談判還在繼續。

環境商品協議（EGA）旨在消除對一系列有助於減輕污染等惡劣環境作用的商品徵收關稅。這項倡議於2014年提出，如今包括了中國，美國，歐盟，以及其他14個國家。環境商品協議的談判代表目前正在制定可用於關稅改革的商品清單，其後將探討關稅逐步廢除的時間跨度和可能免於自由化承諾的有限例外。環境商品協議潛在的工作量非常巨大，因為第二階段談判的目標是將改革擴大到關稅自由化以外的領域，呼籲減少非關稅壁壘和倡導環境保護相關的服務。

面對美國等發達經濟體的“規則優勢”，中國並未排除未來參與TPP的可能性，除了當前中國與澳大利亞等簽訂的雙邊自由貿易協定，中國近幾年來也積極推動東盟“10＋3”（東盟十國＋中日韓）、中日韓FTA、RECP（區域全面經濟夥伴關係）、FTAPP（亞太自貿區談判） “一帶一路”等區域合作新框架。

從長遠來看，TPP以及PSA、GPA等一系列區域貿易協定和全球新規則的出現也符合中國自身經濟結構調整和改革的大方向。中國必須加快構築全球自貿區網絡建設，積極適應美國等新規則的挑戰，在貨物貿易、服務貿易、投資等領域，適當提高自由化標準，倒逼中國突破市場壁壘，破除體制機制障礙，以開放型競爭新體制帶動中國在全球價值鏈和產業鏈分工體系中的全面升級。

At present, the “dispute over rules” of international trade has gone beyond “market dispute” and is becoming the focal point of a new round of global contest. On the one hand, global trade grows more slowly. According to the WTO world trade growth forecast, global trade was expected to grow 3.1% and 4% for 2014 and 2015 respectively, far lower than the average annual growth of 6.7% during the decade before the financial crisis in 2008.

On the other hand, the world trade order is in a period of unprecedented adjustment. New world trade rules tend to gradually become new multilateral trade rules based on the establishment of regional trade rules, supported by regulating the development of plurilateral trade rules within one area and through integrating the rules of commodity trade, investment and service trade. Global trade protection will become more intense and more implicit, and free trade will turn into rules-based trade.

Since the financial crisis, the competition over global regional free trade agreements has become tense. The United States and other developed countries have tried to promote high-standard trade rules that represent the interest of the developed countries by dominating the negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade agreement and the plurilateral Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), etc. The dispute over the future rules has been more than a market dispute, and has become a main issue of the new global contest.

In particular, with the fast development of the global value chain, all countries around the world are starting explicit and implicit trade friction measures such as technical standards and intellectual property protection for greater national interests and added value. These measures are much preferred. For example, the number of technical trade barriers is growing, as proved by the increasing notifications about Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT) and the sanitary and phytosanitory （SPS） agreement within the WTO. Data show that the number of TBT notifications was 606 and the number of SPS notifications was 270 in 2000. But TBT and SPS notifications rose to 2,185 and 1,214 respectively in 2012, growth of 2.6 times for TBT and 3.5 times for SPS. The total notifications of TBT and SPS increased from 876 to 3,399, a 2.9 times growth since 2000.

The new world trade system shows a strong tendency to highlight the integration of trade rules in goods, investment and services. In the investment area, an emphasis is placed on protecting the investor's interests; in the service area, the measure of negative list is taken and services trade will be liberalized comprehensively and at a high standard level. The most important multilateral agreements that are being negotiated now are the Plurilateral Services Agreement (PSA), Information Technology Agreement 2（ITA2）, the Government Procurement Agreement （GPA），and the Environmental Goods Agreement （EGA）. They will strongly push forward the bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations.

First, the PSA. The US, Europe and Japan generate two-thirds of the global service output, absolutely having the big market and the discourse power. The future PSA negotiations will mainly cover all the service areas such as finance, express delivery, transmission, telecom, E-commerce, transportation, sightseeing, internet of Things, mobile communication network and internet. The TPP, TTIP and PSA all involve service issues in the areas of the fair competition among countries and economies, digital trade, internet of things, environment, etc. Thus, a service trade agreement can be taken as the core of the world trade rules that the US is to rebuild.

The ITA2 is dedicated to reducing or eliminating the tariff on the advanced information technology products, involving 80 countries. The first information technology agreement took effect in 1997. The new agreement is to expand the product coverage so as to reach the goal of covering 97% of the world's IT products. China promised to expand the IT product coverage of trade liberalization. However, because China and South Korea failed to reach an agreement on the important tariff items about organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology and products, the second information technology agreement was not reached. Only when the disputes over some high-value tariff items are settled can they cooperate and finish the talks.

In addition, joining the GPA is rather difficult. Eliminating the government procurement restriction can both help governments more effectively reallocate resources and reduce the corruption risk in the bidding cooperation with governments. According to its protocol for accession the WTO in 2001, China agreed to participate in the government procurement agreement “as quickly as possible”. China has negotiated for many years on the issue of joining the government procurement agreement. Although China recently suggested extending the restrictive coverage of the international rules to the provincial-level governments, still other GPA members were not satisfied, so the negotiation is still under way.

The EGA aims at eliminating a series of tariffs on those products that help alleviate environmental pollution. This agreement was first initiated in 2014 and now consists of China, the US, EU and other 14 countries. Negotiators of the EGA are now making a list of goods for the tariff reform and thereafter will discuss the time span of gradually abolishing tariffs and the limited exceptions of possible exempting from liberalization promise. A huge amount of work may need to be done, because the second stage of negotiation aims to extend the reform to those areas outside the tariff liberalization, appeal for reducing non-tariff barriers and advocate environment-related services.

Faced with the US and other developed countries' “advantage of setting rules”, China does not rule out the possibility of joining the TPP in the future. In addition to the bilateral free trade agreement signed between China and Australia, in recent years China has actively promoted a new frame of regional cooperation, including ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea (10+3), China-Japan-Korea FTA, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RECP), the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and One Belt One Road.

In the long-term, a series of regional free trade agreements like the TPP, PSA, GPA and the new world rules also conform to China's own economic restructuring and reform direction. China must quickly reinforce the network establishment of the global free trade areas, actively adapt to the challenge of the new rules set by the US and other countries, appropriately enhance its level of liberalization in such areas as goods trade, service trade and investment, force itself to break through market barriers and get rid of institutional barriers. Only by making use of an open competition mechanism can the country successfully promote its upgrading in the global value chain and the labor division system of industrial chain.