Premier Zhu Rongji Meets EU Guests

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 05, 2001

Premier Zhu Rongji Meets EU Guests

China is about to officially become a member of the World Trade Organization, which was helped by the supportive and cooperative attitude the EU adopted from the beginning, Premier Zhu said in his meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and his entourage.

Premier Zhu Rongji Meets EU Guests

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji met Tuesday with EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and his entourage.

Zhu said that China is about to officially become a member of the World Trade Organization, which was helped by the supportive and cooperative attitude the EU adopted from the beginning.

He expressed the hope that both sides would continue the spirit of negotiation on an equal basis and the practice of mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to promote a friendly cooperative relationship, especially to further the development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Lamy congratulated China on its entry into the WTO and hoped that his visit would further promote EU-China cooperation.

China, 'Elephant' in WTO

In his speech Monday at Shanghai-based China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Lamy described China as the third biggest elephant in World Trade Organization, only after the United States and the European Union.

The EU-China relations has never been so close and the two sides will cooperate in areas of trade-related technical support items, including intelletual property legislation, management and implementation, accounting and the management of tertiary industry, especially financial service, Lamy said.

No Big Explosion of FDI in China

As to investment by EU's enterprises in China, Lamy predicted no big explosion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China by these enterprises, since the European business circle had made preparations even before China's entry into WTO.

Those big enterprises who have landed in China would pay more attention to their strategies and instead, small EU's enterprises should become potential investors, he said.

New Wave of Trade, Investment

China's pending official membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) raises the hopes of European companies in China that a new wave of trade and investment will come soon, said President of European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) Peter Batey Tuesday.

The EUCCC has more than 2,500 members in China, including nearly 300 large European companies.

Batey said the EUCCC is keen to promote investment from European companies and other parts of the world during the openingof China's market.

The EUCCC released a Position Paper for the year of 2001-2002 in Beijing Tuesday. Titled "European Business in China", the position paper outlines suggestions for resolving problems in China's implementation of its commitments under WTO. The paper consists of 16 reports concerning such areas as manufacturing, service, agriculture, legal systems, intellectual properties and statistics.

"China's accession to the WTO is imminent and the commitments made in the Accession Protocol will bring fresh opportunities for European business in China," Batey said.

The European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, who wasin Beijing for a short visit, received the position paper presented by the EUCCC.

By People's Daily Online

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