Telecom Competition Not 'A Game Without Rules': Official

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, May 30, 2002

Telecom Competition Not 'A Game Without Rules': Official

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5th APEC Ministerial Meeting of Telecommunication and Information Opens

Developing countries should strengthen government supervision over the information industry while opening up their markets, as "the game cannot continue properly without rules," China's top telecommunications industry official said Wednesday in Shanghai.

Minister of the Information Industry Wu Jichuan made the remark during a three-party dialogue at the 5th APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Ministerial Meeting of the Telecommunication and Information Industry (TELMIN5).

Wu said that there is no doubt that competition and opening up play a positive role in vitalizing and boosting economies. However, market competition should not exclude government supervision, and an open market should be developed in a standardized and orderly way.

Only by strengthening government supervision in a competitive and open market can a sound development of the industry be guaranteed, and the interests of both investors and consumers protected, Wu said.

"In many countries, it proves that the 'game' cannot continue properly without rules, and in the meantime, inappropriate deregulation is detrimental to development," Wu said.

Wu said that developing countries should establish a centralized, independent, authoritative and efficient regulatory system, and formulate telecommunication laws and regulations as well as regulatory policies in line with national conditions and international practices, to create a fair, equitable and transparent market regulation mechanism and improve legalization.

Information sector facing severe challenges

Wu said the information and telecommunication industry is now facing the most severe challenges since the new technological revolution due to industrial restructuring following ten years of rapid progress.

He suggested that the APEC economies take down-to-earth steps to develop their national information industries, and that the developing countries establish a regulation mode tailored to their needs.

The information sector is an important driving force for the world economy, and will play an irreplaceable role in economic recovery and rejuvenation, he said.

Senior officials and experts from many countries, including Canada, the United States, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore, introduced their policies and views on the issue of the "digital divide".

Some entrepreneurs suggested that all the APEC economies promote market competition, invite foreign investment and improve public knowledge about the Internet.

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