China's Quest for WTO Meets New ProblemEven though China and Mexico happily concluded their negotiations on China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva yesterday, another problem has arisen.Ambassador Sha Zukang, of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and Mexican Ambassador to the WTO Uardo Perez Motta signed the bilateral agreement in Geneva. However, China's 15-year quest to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) is clouded with new uncertainties, following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC on Tuesday. The WTO China working group, scheduled to have concluded its work and wrapped up the legal documents on China's accession Thursday, decided to extend its meeting to Monday. The US disaster has made it impossible for negotiators, and especially US officials, to focus on talks on the legal documents. Speculation was rife among Chinese experts and officials that the WTO ministerial meeting, scheduled for Doha of Qatar in November, would also be a casualty of the suicide hijackers, who tore into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Wang Zhile, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Co-operation, said that many countries, especially the US, would be reluctant to go ahead with the gathering because of security fears. However, some others felt there should be no change to the Qatar meeting, or at least that it is premature to talk about such a possibility. If the ongoing 18th meeting of the WTO China working group finalizes legal documents on the country's accession, as at first expected, China should be formally approved as a member at the November Doha meeting and become a formal member early next year, at the latest. |
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