The Chinese and US governments released a press communique on the signing of a bilateral agreement concerning China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Beijing on the afternoon of November 15.

Following is the full text of the press communique:

PRESS COMMUNIQUE ON THE SIGNING OF THE BILATERAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON CHINA'S ACCESSION TO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

15 NOVEMBER, 1999

From 10th to 15th November 1999, the Chinese Government Delegation headed by Mr. Shi Guangsheng, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of the People's Republic of China, and the United States' Government Delegation headed by Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, U.S. Trade Representative and Mr. Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council of the United States of America, held negotiations in Beijing on the issue of China's accession to the World Trade Organization. The two sides signed on November 15th the Bilateral Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America on China's Accession to the World Trade Organization.

The two delegations have noted that both the Chinese and U.S. governments and their leaders, Presidents Jiang Zemin and Bill Clinton, have attached great importance to the talks, not only for its commercial importance, but also for its importance to the global economy and long term strategic significance. We believe this agreement benefits both China and the United States.

The signing of the aforementioned agreement by China and the United States will help accelerate the process of China's accession to WTO and the development of China-US economic cooperation and trade relations. The two sides are looking forward to close cooperation in the WTO in the future so as to help ensure the sound development of China-US relations and the prosperity of the world economy.