UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed the trade agreement just concluded by China and the United States after six-day negotiations in Beijing.

In a statement issued through his spokesman's office, Annan, who is now in Beijing for a visit, said, "This is a major step towards the culmination of China's long-standing efforts to resume its rightful role in the multilateral trading system, and to the achievement of universality of the system itself."

"I wish to express my heartfelt congratulations to both China and the United States for the agreement which they have just concluded. I hope that the separate negotiations between China and the European Union, Canada and others will be handled expeditiously and successfully," Annan said,

"Now that China is on the verge of joining the World Trade Organization, I am hopeful that the Seattle Conference will be successful and will lead to full access to the world market for developing countries," he added.