【Abstract】

　　The running of World Trade Organization is increasingly facing structural issues such as dispute settlement mechanisms, exception clause regulations, and unilateral measure restrictions. There are also multiple obstacles to constructing digital trade rules under the WTO framework. This article mainly analyzes how these factors pose impact on WTO members' negotiations on digital trade rules, concerning the characteristics of close relations between the digital trade and the competition among major powers as well as national security, the applicability of the provisions related to and digital trade of the WTO agreements, and the positive progress of digital trade rules in regional trade agreements. Because digital trade contains complex technical and security factors, establishing a universal digital trade rules system under the WTO framework will be a long and tortuous process, and some regional free trade agreements are gradually establishing a differentiated digital trade rules framework. The reason is that regional free trade agreements can not only provide strong regulations for bilateral or multilateral digital trade, but also effectively deal with the risks of personal privacy, social stability and national security that data transmission may bring.

　　【Keywords】Digital Economy; Trade Rules; WTO; China

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