CAPE TOWN, June 7 (Xinhua) -- South Africa supports an inclusive, development-centered and rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Friday.

Patel was speaking before leaving for Tsukuba of Japan to attend the G20 trade ministers' meeting, scheduled for June 8-9.

The meeting, Patel said, has the potential for a constructive dialogue to avoid a destructive trade war that could limit growth and creation of jobs in South Africa.

"A significant part of South Africa's GDP performance is driven by trade," said Patel.

The trade ministers' meeting will focus on the current international trade developments and ways to create favorable business environments to grow investments that can contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth and developments in WTO countries.

The meeting takes place at a time when the multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges, Patel said.

He said South Africa is concerned that the WTO is facing an existential crisis, as the appellate body is likely to be dysfunctional by December 2019 if the current impasse in the appointments of members of the WTO is not expeditiously resolved.

"A functional dispute settlement mechanism is a cornerstone of the multilateral trading system and essential to the functioning of the WTO," Patel said. "There is, therefore, a need for constructive discussions by all the members of the WTO as an immediate priority to resolve the impasse."

Patel said his country will take advantage of the meeting to deepen its links with key international partners and actively participate in shaping the multilateral trading system.

South Africa must not be left behind as the digital and other new technologies are transforming the world and economies, the minister said.

The interface between trade and the digital economy is another topic to be discussed at the meeting, according to Patel.

These technologies are reshaping traditional manufacturing and logistics systems, Patel said.

"What we produce and how we produce it will all change as the new technologies enter production chains," he said.

South Africa, he said, must focus on upgrading productive capabilities, diversifying the economy, moving up the value chain and ensuring that it has a greater share of the benefits of international production and trade.

This requires a focused discussion on the framework for the digital economy that can help with harnessing digital and other new technologies for South Africa's industrial policy, Patel said. Enditem

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