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US supports China's WTO entry
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Winton Dong
ASIA Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum members plan to call for an agreement on China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be reached by the end of this year, a senior Asian official said yesterday in Shenzhen.
“Member economies will urge the early conclusion of China's WTO accession negotiations as early as possible and by the end of the year,” the trade official told reporters at the Second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM II) of the 13th APEC Ministerial Meeting which closed in Shenzhen yesterday.
China's 14-year bid to enter the WTO has dominated weekend talks of senior officials from the 21-nation APEC group who were scheduled to set the agenda for a meeting of APEC trade ministers in Shanghai later this week and lay the groundwork for a summit meeting of APEC leaders in October.
Larry Greenwood, head of US delegation to the SOM II gathering, also reiterated President George W Bush's support for China's entry to the WTO.
“The main question of accession into the WTO is an important issue for both of us in terms of economic interests,” Greenwood said. “We certainly want to be as helpful as we can in helping China become a very active participant in the global trading system.”
APEC economies account for about 60 per cent of the world's output and around half of its trade.
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