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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 20, 2001

WTO Entry Brings Opportunity, Challenge to China: Li Ruihuan

China's entry into the WTO brings both opportunity and challenge to the country, said China's top advisory body leader Li Ruihuan in his Monday meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in Singapore.


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WTO entry brings both opportunity and challenge to China, Li Ruihuan told Singaporean Prime Minister.

China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) brings both opportunity and challenge to the country, said China's top advisory body leader Li Ruihuan Monday in Singapore.

Li, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) who arrived here Sunday, said this in his Monday meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

  • China's WTO entry is a good thing for the whole world
    • He noted that the WTO entry is not only a good thing for China, but also a good thing for its neighbors and the world as a whole. Since the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy, China has enjoyed more than 20 years of healthy progress in both economic and social development, during which the Chinese people gained substantial experiences in doing business with friends from all over the world, while getting fairly well prepared for the forthcoming harsh international competitions in both economic and technological fields, Li said.

  • WTO entry will promote China to get into the mainstream of world economy
    • He noted that China's access to the WTO, which will help enhance the country's economic strength and accelerate its modernization drive, is a great boost to its endeavor to get into the mainstream of world economy. However, China is still in a backward state in terms of overall economic development, Li said, adding that the heavy burden of a huge population, insufficient fund for investment and relatively scarce natural resources should partly be blamed for the lag behind in some of the country's industrial sectors.

  • Challenge: China's long isolation from the world community
    • As a result of being isolated from the world community for a long time, many of the people's business concepts and ways of thinking are not in gear with international practices, which poses a great challenge to China when it becomes member of the biggest trade body in the world, said Li.

  • China's preparation for WTO entry
    • China is deepening its reform, and brings forth new ideas in the theory, mechanism, science and technology so as to meet the challenges arising from the accession, he said.

  • China sastisfied with good relations between the two countries
    • The current relations between China and Singapore are very good, with which the Chinese side is satisfied, he said, adding the two countries have had fruitful cooperation in extensive fields including trade, investment and human resources exploitation.

  • China willing to reinforce ties with and learn from Singapore
    • China will make full use of the opportunities that come with its WTO entry to actively take further part in international competitions in an even wider range of fields, he added. Singapore is among the first countries to open their gates for globalization and it has been proved a good decision, Li said, adding that China is willing to reinforce its ties with the country and learn from it in the new century to push bilateral friendly relationship into a new era of sound growth.

    Goh: Singapore to be China's cooperative partner of mutual promotion and mutual benefits

    Goh said that after the entry, China needs a period of time for readjustment and this entry will greatly promote the world trade development. Noting that the international community, including Singapore, will also face the new situation brought about to the world trade by China's WTO accession, he said Singapore will need more exchanges of experience with China on taking part in the international competition. It will strive to be China's cooperative partner of mutual promotion and mutual benefits, against the background of economic globalization, he said.

    Li is on a five-day official goodwill visit to the city state. He will leave here for Beijing on November 23 to end his three- nation Asia-Pacific tour, which also includes Fiji and Papua New Guinea.




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