China had its first judge appointed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) when the world body recently selected four senior justices to its seven-people Appellate Body-top court. Lawyer Zhang Yuejiao was one of the four appointed on November 27 by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) for a four-year term. Her tenure will commence on June 1, 2008.

The appointment came after deliberation and recommendation of the Selection Committee comprising WTO director general, and chairpersons of the General Council, the DSB and other WTO organs. The Appellate Body shall "comprise persons of recognized authority, with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and the subject matter of the WTO agreements generally," a WTO statement said.

Zhang, 63, studied at Renne University of France in 1964, obtaining a Bachelor's degree. She won her Master's degree in law at Georgetown University in 1981, and completed her Doctoral degree at the Law School of Columbia University in 1997. Zhang is currently professor of law at China's Shantou University.

With more than 20 years experience in handling foreign trade and trade disputes, Zhang's career began at the State Import and Export Commission, and then Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (now the Ministry of Commerce) as director general of the Department of Law and Treaties, where regulations were drafted to initially construct a legal framework concerning China's trade issues.

Her curriculum vitae also includes positions as a legal counsel for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Meanwhile, she served as chief legal counsel for China's negotiations concerning the resumption of its membership in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its WTO accession, as well as chief negotiator on intellectual property talks with the United States and the EU.

In 2005 Zhang was assigned to be China's representative on the Board of Directors of the West African Development Bank after China had become the organization's biggest foreign stakeholder. Her expertise in regional economic cooperation and international trade laws made her one of the most popular directors of the bank.