China to Firmly Open to Outside WorldChina's Chief Negotiator on the entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), Long Yongtu, said China will firmly stick to the policy of opening to the outside world as the country's full membership in the WTO approaches.Long said in an article in today's overseas edition of the People's Daily that the agreement China reached with the European Union on China's WTO entry, and the passage of permanent normal trade relations status by the U.S. House of Representatives, have cleared the way for China's entry into the WTO. China will take an active approach in participating in the economic globalization of the world, he said, because that is the only way China can become a major economic power. Long said that China must accomplish three tasks in the face of economic globalization -- build a socialist market economy, stick to the policy of opening to the outside, and act in accordance with international norms and regulations. China's entry into the WTO poses serious challenges to economic management departments of the government, he said, and those departments will have to change their current functions and adapt to the needs of developing a market economy. In bilateral negotiations with members of the WTO, China has given up demands in technology transfer and foreign exchange balance and localization, because the government wants less interference in the running of individual enterprises. Long urged China's enterprises to make use of the advantages of joining the WTO, and protect their own rights. In addition, China's decision to sharply reduce its tariffs, to remove a large number of non-tariff trade barriers, and to gradually open its service market, is aimed at cutting the cost of competition for enterprises, and therefore is favorable to Chinese firms. "Without opening to the outside world, Chinese enterprises will never be strongly competitive in the international market," he said. Some people in the United States doubted whether China would keep its pledges after China and the United States reached WTO agreement, Long said, but China will keep all its pledges. "this is because all the pledges China made are in line with China's interests, with China's policy of reform and opening to the outside world, and with China's participation in the world's economic globalization," he concluded |
| People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |