HK to Be Biggest Beneficiary from China's WTO Entry

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 30, 2001

HK to Be Biggest Beneficiary from China's WTO Entry

While visiting Hong Kong on November 28, Long Yongtu said that China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) would bring greater business opportunities for Hong Kong and it would therefore become the biggest beneficiary. Hong Kong is expected to strengthen ties with inland and further boom its economy.

Vice minister predicted HK to be biggest beneficiary from WTO

While visiting the Hong Kong China Chamber of Commerce on November 28, Long Yongtu, vice-minister and chief negotiator with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), said that China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) would bring greater business opportunities for Hong Kong which would therefore become the biggest beneficiary.

HK expected to strengthen ties with inland

Long expressed the hope that Hong Kong would make full use of the opportunity offered by China's WTO entry to further strengthen ties with the inland, so that it would play a still greater role in the motherland's new round of opening to the outside world. Long also hoped that Hong Kong's economy would be reshaped through structural adjustment along with the economic restructuring in the hinterland, and the two would be coordinated with each other.

HK to be a base for inland personnel training

Joining the WTO, Long said, will bring China's opening up to a new stage and make its economic reform more legalized. To keep its promise of observing international rules, China will set up a transparent, stable and predictable legal system. Meanwhile, major changes will take place in government functions, consequently, the government's administrative interference in enterprise operation will be weakened.

He said that in the process of establishing a sound legal system, the inland needs large numbers of professionals, such as lawyers and accountants, in the service field. He hoped that Hong Kong would become a base for training professionals for the hinterland.

HK to have a bright future

He noted that Hong Kong's status as an important transit port will remain unchanged after China's entry into the WTO. After China's WTO entry, the hinterland will gradually open its service trades, including banking, insurance, accounting, retail and wholesale. Hong Kong will have a lot to accomplish in these realms.

Hong Kong's economy is booming

by PD Online Staff Yang Ruoqian

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