EU trade commissioner Pascal Lamy said Saturday he would go to Beijing this month in an attempt to speed up commerce talks between the European Union and China.

Lamy told a press conference at Porto, Portugal, on the sidelines of a meeting of EU trade ministers, that certain problems with China had not been resolved. He is to go China in the week starting March 27.

The talks are to reach an agreement so the EU can support China's application to join the World Trade Organization.

The last talks between the two sides in Beijing in February, ended with them issuing contradictory communiques. China said an agreement had been reached in principle.

Negotiations have been held up by disagreement on access to China's telecommunications and financial sectors.