Fulfilling WTO Commitments a Priority

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 25, 2002

Fulfilling WTO Commitments a Priority - Officials

Senior officials said on Sunday the government will make more efforts to fulfill its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. In the coming five years, China will open its goods market, which will provide trade partners a share of US$1.5 trillion. The further opening up of the service and trade market will also bring new fields for foreign investment.

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China makes efforts to fulfill WTO commitments

Senior officials said on Sunday the government will make more efforts to fulfill its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments.

The new opportunity allows China to be more proactive in participating in international economic co-operation and competition, and it accelerates economic reform and development, said Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao.

China will continue its WTO commitments and expand areas of opening up step by step, he stressed.

In the coming five years, China will open its goods market, which will provide trade partners a share of US$1.5 trillion. The further opening up of the service and trade market will also bring new fields for foreign investment.

Wen made the remarks on the 2002 China Development Forum which opened on Sunday.

"WTO accession symbolizes China has entered a new phase of opening up to the outside world, and has turned to a new page of restructuring its economic system,'' Wen said.

2002 China Development Forum

The annual forum is sponsored by the Development and Research Centre under the State Council and aims to erect a new exchange channel among entrepreneurs, scholars and government officials from home and abroad.

Called "China -- a member of the WTO,'' the two-day forum addresses six topics: fiscal policy adjustment, capital market opening and banking reform, governance of large State-owned enterprise, eradicating regional protectionism and nourishing an integrated market, opening of the farm products market, and changes in foreign investment policies.

Vice-Financial Minister Lou Jiwei said his ministry will continue to streamline all kinds of preferential tax treatment and subsidies, and cancel favorable tax policies for some enterprises and regions.

"We are considering unifying tax policies between foreign and domestic companies,'' he said.

Lou predicted it will take three to four years for the ministry to finish its fiscal reform.

To improve fiscal transparency, the ministry will publish newly-staged rules and regulations.

Measures to be taken on SOEs reform

Jiang Qiangui, vice-minister of the State Economic and Trade Commission, assured foreign investors that China's progress of forming competitive conglomerates will be carried out in a fair market environment, rather than offering them preferential policies.

"We have drafted rules to allow foreign investors to hold stakes in large State-owned enterprises. The official version will be staged after negotiations with related departments,'' Jiang said.

She said that China will introduce a series of significant measures step by step to push forward the on-going reform of its State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Jiang said the measures may touch upon the issues of improving the state property management system, exploring proper incentives fit for managers of large SOEs, and strengthening the reform of the investment administration mechanism and monopolized industries.

The central bank governor Dai Xianglong said China will further open China's capital market and absorb more overseas financial capital to boost the current reform in China's financial system.

In the reform of four major State-owned commercial banks, Dai aims to lower their ratio of non-performing loans by an average three percentage points every year.

"We are also discussing the hot issue on establishment of qualified financial institutions, through which Chinese individuals and enterprises can put their savings in foreign currencies on overseas capital markets,'' Dai said.

China's Entry into the WTO

China's entry to the WTO is a major event for the country, and the world as a whole.

Governments, business circles and social organizations all over the world have sent congratulatory messages to China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, saying that China's entry will benefit its national economy, as well as encourage global economic growth and the improvement of the multilateral trade system.

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