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China-EU WTO Talks Open This Afternoon
The fourth round of talks concerning China's WTO entry between China and the EU has been scheduled at three o'clock this afternoon in MOFTEC, to be headed by MOFTEC Minister Shi Guangsheng and EU trade commissioner Pascal Lamy, who arrived in Beijing on this morning.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) on April 26, China and the EU have agreed that at the invitation of MOFTEC Minister Shi Guangsheng, Trade Commissioner of the European Commission Pascal Lamy would arrive in Beijing in the week beginning May 15 for a new round of talks concerning China's WTO entry.
China and the EU held three rounds of talks earlier this year, one in Brussels and two in Beijing. China described the talks as "positive" and "fruitful."
On January 26, the EU and China ended a two-and-a-half-day negotiating session in Brussels on China's WTO accession. Both sides said in a joint statement that the negotiations were held in "positive and constructive atmosphere" and substantive progress was made through joint efforts by both sides.
A month later between February 21-24, the Chinese team, led by Chief Negotiator Long Yongtu, and the EU team, led by Hans-Friedrich Beseler, EU Executive Commission's Director-General for Trade, held the second round of talks in Beijing.
China and the EU had "come very close" after the two rounds of talks respectively in Brussels and Beijing, Long said.
The last round of talks between Shi Guangsheng and Pascal Lamy held in Beijing at the end of March, were valued by the Chinese side as "positive" and "fruitful."
Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji On May 8 urged an early conclusion of Sino-EU agreement on China's entry into the WTO, during his talks with visiting Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.
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