See Daniel Altman's (IHT) blog " China decides to speak up, finally":
http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/business/globalization/?p=772 including Peter Mandelson, the European Union’s trade commissioner, quoted in the comments.
...Part of the reason they’re angry is that they already went through long, intense negotiations with China to seal the agreements that led to China’s membership, which actually happened several months after the Doha round was launched. In the first year or two of the Doha talks, it would have seemed downright impertinent for China to try, essentially, to renegotiate its membership deals through the new round. But after seven years, China can claim the same right to negotiate as everyone else. And whose fault is it that enough time has passed to put China in this powerful position? Why, the same countries who stonewalled through all those years and now complain that China is standing in the way of a deal. Trade karma!
See also "Balance of power shifts to China at global trade talks":
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/28/business/wto.phpGENEVA: As seven years of global trade talks approach another nervy climax, China is emerging as a central player - and coming under heavy criticism from the United States and others for its tough tactics.
But no one should be surprised to find the Chinese trade minister, Chen Deming, playing hardball. In 2004 Chen studied at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and he has said privately that he learned all his negotiating skills in the United States.
Now, with the latest trade talks dragging into their second full week, China is fighting hard for last-minute concessions, including the right to shield important farm products from competition and to delay implementing some of its tariff cuts for years.
"What we are seeing is the emergence of a new power pole," said Joe Guinan, a trade expert with the German Marshall Fund, a public policy group. "It is finally being felt at the WTO. They have begun to throw their weight around - and this is a glimpse of the future."
Such a development has, Guinan added "been coming a long time - and it is not going away."...