To Develop Sino-US Ties from 'a Strategic Point of View': Vice Premier

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 18, 2003

To Develop Sino-US Ties from 'a Strategic Point of View': Vice Premier

Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao said in Beijing Monday that China and the United States should approach and develop their relations from a strategic point of view during a meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and his party.

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Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao said in Beijing Monday that China and the United States should approach and develop their relations from a strategic point of view.

During a meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and his party, who arrived in Beijing Sunday evening for a four-day visit to China, Wen said the two countries should proceed from the fundamental interests of their two peoples to maintain the overall situation of world peace when handling bilateral relations.

As long as both sides took concrete steps to effectively implement the spirit of the talks between their heads of state in Crawford, Texas last year, and increase exchanges and cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and do away with interference, he said, Sino-US relations would surely expand further.

The Chinese vice-premier noted that China, as a responsible big nation, was resolved to carry out commitments it made in joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), and was capable of doing so.

China would strictly observe the rules of the WTO, Wen said. He also briefed the US guests on the tremendous efforts China had made in fulfilling the pledges and rules.

Zoellick said the United States and China should increase cooperation both in political, economic and trade spheres. The US side held that China had taken very conscientious steps in carrying out its pledges and had worked vigorously to implement the rules, he added.

Moreover, he noted, the United States hoped to work closely with China so that bilateral relations could grow smoothly.

He said China has taken important steps, such as introducing laws and issuing extra licences in the insurance industry, to reform its economy in the 14 months since it joined the WTO.

"On the other hand, there are areas where we want to be sure China moves as rapidly as we believe it can,'' Zoellick added.

China's accession to the WTO had been a priority for President George W. Bush's administration in its first year, Zoellick said in a statement ahead of the visit.

When meeting with Wen, he said the United States recognized that China had been conscientious in carrying out its pledges and had worked vigorously to implement WTO rules.

The nation's moves to meet WTO obligations was noted recently in a commentary on Financeasia.com, a Hong Kong-based regional website for Asia's institutional investors. The commentary was written by Thomas Ng, a managing associate of the China Group at law firm Linklaters and former adviser to Citibank in its acquisition of shares in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

Ng said some of the laws passed by the Chinese Government over the past 12 months were driven by "the authorities' desire to deepen economic reform... and create an even more attractive environment for foreign investment.''

"Soon after accession, China undertook the mammoth task of updating its merger and acquisition (M&A) regulations to make them consistent with WTO obligations,'' he said.

Following meetings in Beijing, Zoellick will travel to Chongqing in western China to see first-hand the economic opportunities and potential of the largest city in the world before leaving for Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

The volume of Sino-US trade totalled US$97.18 billion in 2002, up 20.8 per cent year-on-year. The United States now is China's second largest trade partner.

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