"We are satisfied with what we have seen in Shanghai, and we decide to support China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), for it will benefit both countries," Matt Salmon, head of a seven-member US congressional delegation, said in Shanghai on January 13.

They US congressmen came to Shanghai after visiting Beijing to see the operations of solely funded American companies in the city.

China will put more efforts into agricultural modernization after it gains WTO entry, and tariffs will then be lower, which will be good news for US companies, said Rich Christman, vice-president of Case-New Holland, a US-Italian joint venture and the world's third-largest producer of agricultural machinery.

The company set up a branch under the name Case Machinery (Shanghai) Company Ltd. in Shanghai at the beginning of last year, and another in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province four months ago.

"We are not the largest US company here, but nonetheless we have a responsibility to let our congress know the true conditions of our business in China, so as to help them make the right decision on the issue of China's entry into the WTO," said Christman.

"We have a general idea of the actual conditions of US companies in the city and their future plans, which will be useful for us in judging what impact China's accession to the WTO will have on our country," said Salmon.