China Attends First WTO Meeting as Full Member

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 19, 2001

China Attends First WTO Meeting as Full Member

Long Yongtu, China's chief trade negotiator, has left Beijing for Geneva to attend the General Council meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a full-membership delegate of its 143th member. Meanwhile, Long's colleague Zhangxiang, another MOFTEC vice-minister, is reported to service as China's first ambassador to WTO.

Red card replaced by blue card

Long Yongtu, Chinese chief WTO negotiator and vice-minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, left Beijing on Tuesday by Air China for Geneva to attend the meeting of WTO General Council scheduled December 19, being the first WTO conference China participates in as a full member.

Before this, on December 11, the first day marking China's WTO accession, Chinese trade representatives in Geneva headquarters had started to wear blue-colored representative cards-a symbol of WTO full member. When Chinese representatives take part in a discussion on textile in the headquarters on December 12, their seats had been lifted from the long-term observer area to the formal member area and arranged in alphabetic order.

Form now on, the blue-colored formal member card will be worn every time when Chinese representatives attend meetings in WTO headquarters, replacing the red cards long worn by Chinese representing the status of observer, says Li Enheng, deputy permanent representative to the WTO.

Observer In the past, full member now

WTO members would not seek Chinese representatives to discuss questions or exchange views since China was an observer, and it's kind enough of them to tell you something about their discussions. But now things have changed and other members will actively discuss issues with Chinese representatives, according to an official long participated in WTO negotiation.

Before leaving Beijing, Long Yongtu says there will be more negotiations after China's WTO entry. In the past we only got to listen as observer, now we are entitled to take part in global trade negotiations. We are determined not only to defend the interest of ourselves, but also that of developing countries. Besides, we are striving for an overall balance between interests of developed and developing countries. So there will be a lot to discuss in the new round of negotiations.

First ambassador chosen

Meanwhile, China News Service reported December 19 that Long's colleague Zhangxiang, another MOFTEC vice-minister will service as China's first ambassador to WTO.

Sixty-year-old Zhang, a graduate from China's prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing who later earned a docotor degree from Colombia University in the United States in 1979, once served as Shanghai's deputy director of its Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation Commission.

He was appointed Moftec vice-minister in 1998 while still acting as the president of Shanghai Jiaotong University's school of business administration.

Long Yongtu: China to Be More Active in Economic Cooperation

Chinese Deputy Foreign Trade Minister Long Yongtu said in Vienna on December 4 that China's WTO membership marks a new stage in its opening up. China will participate in international economic cooperation and division of labor on a larger scale and in greater depth. (In Detail)

Click here for full text of an interview with Long Yongtu on China's WTO entry

Click here for more photos about China's WTO accession

By PD Online Staff Li Heng

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