China Reaffirms WTO Commitment to Global Business Community

Home>>Business

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, July 02, 2002

China Reaffirms WTO Commitment to Global Business Community

China Monday sent out a strong message to the global business community that it will keep its commitments to the World Trade Organization by gradually opening related industries.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

China Monday sent out a strong message to the global business community that it will keep its commitments to the World Trade Organization by gradually opening related industries.

Minister Shi Guangsheng of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC) said: "We are making strenuous efforts and are capable of keeping our commitment."

He made the remark Monday during a meeting with German Minister of Economics and Technology Werner Mueller.

Mueller is in Beijing to attend the 11th Meeting of Sino-German Economic Co-operation Committee, a two-day summit that opened yesterday.

"We will keep our commitment to opening our service sector gradually," Shi said.

The liberalization of the service industries will be mainly in the areas of securities, foreign trade, transportation, banking, insurance and tourism, he said.

"We are taking advantage of China's WTO entry to reform our foreign trade system to build up an efficient market for both domestic and international players," Shi said.

He assured Mueller that the laws and regulations which run counter to WTO rules are being revised and abolished to help China keep its commitment.

According to MOFTEC, more than 2,300 related laws and regulations have been amended while a total of 830 have been abolished.

Meanwhile, the watchdog for China's foreign trade is going to enact 325 new ones.

In another development, Shi called for the German Government and European Union to abolish their discriminative trade barriers imposed on Chinese products.

Sources indicated that by the end of June, anti-dumping cases against Chinese products by the European Union totaled 91. Restrictions were imposed on many Chinese products such as textiles, canned mushrooms and garlic.

"It has caused great damage to Chinese enterprises," Shi said.

He urged the EU to adopt a fairer way to handle such issues.

An initial agreement was also signed on Sino-German Investment Protection.

"Co-operation between China and Germany is constructive and beneficial to both sides," the minister said.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two country.

Germany has become China's sixth largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching a record US$23.53 billion last year, up 19.5 per cent from the previous year.

In the first five months of this year, the figure stood at US$9.95 billion, up 10 per cent on the same period of 2001.

Fulfilling WTO Commitments a Priority

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.

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

Full Coverage: China Embraces WTO

Photo Feature: China's Entry into the WTO

Questions?Comments? Click here

China is Committed to WTO Rules: Supachai

Roundup: China Implements WTO Promises Steadily

China to Fulfill WTO Commitments: Minister

FM Spokesman on Chinese Diplomat Killed in Kyrgyzstan ( 7 Messages)

Mysterious Pipes Left by "ET" Reported from Qinghai ( 49 Messages)

From Concocting 'Theory of Threat' to Dishing up 'Theory of Collapse' ( 29 Messages)

China to Boost the Service Sector to Create More Jobs ( 27 Messages)

China Races to Replace US as Economic Power in Asia: NY Times ( 8 Messages)

China's Security Model Shapes Peace: News Analysis ( 5 Messages)