| Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 14, 2001 |
Li Lanqing on WTO Entry, Development Strategy |
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China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) will lead to further economic restructuring, and increased foreign investment and export, said Chinese Vice-Premier Li Lanqing during his November 5-13 tour of Guangdong Province, south China. The vice premier also warned that WTO membership will pose grave challenges to China and called on governments at all levels and enterprises to institute proper reform.
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Opportunities and challenges ahead
On the one hand, China's entry into the WTO will lead to further economic restructuring and an increased foreign investment and export; on the other hand, WTO membership will also pose grave challenges to China, said the vice-premier and member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
Governments at all levels will need to readjust the way they think, act and manage money, and enterprises will need to institute proper reform of their corporate governance structure, according to Li.
Li said those enterprises with high production costs, low economic efficiency and poor competitiveness will face the most pressure.
Li emphasized several points in countering the challenges posed by the WTO entry:
To improve comprehensive national strength
The key to making the most of the positives and avoiding the negatives of WTO entry lies in China's ability to speed up development to steadily improve its comprehensive national strength and international competitiveness, Li said.
To vigorously develop Information technology
China should give top priority to promoting the use of information technology for industrialization and modernization, speeding up economic restructuring of high-tech industries and production of goods marketable on markets at home and abroad, regulating the economic order, and making changes in governmental functions, according to Li.
To quicken economic and industrial restructuring
Li called on domestic enterprises to develop hi-tech products and the products that are in great demand within and outside China.
To vigorously rectify and regulate the market economic order
Li stressed the need to create an open, fair and just competitive environment through improving the country's socialist market economic system and regulating its system of policies, laws and regulation and administrative system.
He said China should formulate countermeasures to prevent or solve any possible unfavorable factors resulting from WTO entry.
During his tour, Li also investigated reforms underway in institutions of higher learning, research institutes, and medical and health systems.
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