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China, Australia Sign Trade Deal Heading for WTO
Australia signed a trade agreement with China Monday in Beijing as its trade minister predicted interest in China's entry into the World Trade Organization would restart a failed global trade round.
Australia and China put the official seal on an "in principle" bilateral agreement they reached last year on China's WTO entry three days after Beijing cleared its last major obstacle to accession in a hard-won deal with the European Union.
Trade Minister Mark Vaile said the deal with the EU would not only help to restart a global trade round, but also help to push through a crucial US vote on whether to give China normal trading status this week.
"The conclusion of the deal with the EU last week is adding to the leverage on the (US) Congress," Vaile told reporters.
Uncertainty surrounds the vote by the US House of Representatives on whether to grant China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR), a step Beijing demands is a condition of a wide-ranging WTO deal it signed with the United States in November last year.
Although Vaile was optimistic PNTR would pass, he said failure would require a re-evaluation of the US government after presidential elections in November.
"If that unfortunate circumstance eventuates on Wednesday, we will probably need to look at the new administration in the US and how they would address the issue of letting (the legislation) through," he said.
Vaile said renewed international interest in the WTO brought by China's struggle to gain accession should gather renewed momentum after attempts to start a new round collapsed at the end of last year amid street protests and acrimony between developed and developing countries.
"There's a broad level of focus across the world now and I think we should take the opportunity to transfer that beyond China's accession and on to the launch of a round," he said.
Vaile and a 74-strong Australian delegation which began their six-day visit of China on May 19 were due to leave Beijing for Kunming on Wednesday.
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