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China Will Not Step Back from Any WTO Commitment: Premier Zhu
Premier Zhu Rongji said Monday that China will absolutely not step back from any of the commitments it made in bilateral negotiations with the European Union or other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Zhu made the remarks during a formal meeting Monday morning with President Jacques Rene Chirac of France, the current chair-nation of the EU, and Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission.
Zhu assured them that China will honor its commitments and in the meantime hopes WTO members will not add new requirements in the multi-lateral negotiation process. He stressed China can only join the WTO with the status of a developing country.
The Chinese premier hopes that during the current Sino-EU summit both sides will consider China's WTO entry from a strategic perspective and reach consensus, so as to help complete the multi-lateral negotiations as early as possible.
President Chirac said the EU will energetically promote the process, and hopes that, through joint efforts from China and the EU, the negotiations on China's entry into the WTO will be concluded in the "coming few weeks."
China and the EU reached a bilateral deal in May this year. So far China has completed bilateral talks with 36 WTO members out of the 37 who asked for bilateral talks.
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