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China's Accession to WTO Enters Final Stage: Minister
After 15 years of arduous efforts, China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has entered the final stage, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) Shi Guangsheng said Friday in Beijing.
"China's entry into the WTO will not only benefit China's economy, but also the world economy," Shi told a plenary secession of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment.
China has reached consensus with the United States and the European Union (EU) on the remaining issues in the multilateral negotiations on China's entry into the WTO, he said.
He explained that substantial negotiations on China's entry into the WTO at the 16th China WTO working party meeting have been completed, and that China will become a WTO member in the near future.
The next working party meeting will examine the protocol and the working party's report on China's accession, he noted.
China's joining of the WTO means that China's opening-up will enter a new stage, as will the development of China's economic relations with other countries and regions.
The minister said that, as a result of the country's WTO accession, three changes will take place in China's opening-up drive: from opening-up within a limited scope to opening-up completely, from opening-up under the guidance of interim regulations to opening-up within a predictable framework, and from opening-up unilaterally to opening-up as a WTO member to the other members.
In line with the requirements of China's socialist market economy system and commitments made as conditions for joining the WTO, China will improve its laws and regulations to create a sound legal environment.
He added that China will make an all-round adjustment to regulations concerning foreign investment, so as to create a unified, stable, transparent and predictable policy environment for foreign businessmen.
China will further transform its governmental functions in order to create an open, just, clean and efficient administrative environment for foreign investors, he said.
The minister also called for protection of intellectual property rights and measures to stamp out the practices of randomly collecting charges, imposing fines and conducting checks.
"All these actions will create a better environment and provide more opportunities for investors from all parts of the world," he said.
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