China signs trade pact with U.S. grudgingly<\/p>\n
BEIJING (Reuter): China and the United States signed a
\nlandmark accord on Saturday to protect copyright in an awkward
\nceremony that revealed daunting trade differences between the two
\nPacific giants.<\/p>\n
Feisty Foreign Trade Minister Wu Yi, dressed entirely in
\nblack, sternly told U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor of a
\nneed for mutual respect to remove obstacles \"unrelated to trade\"
\nthat still hinder Sino-U.S. trade ties.<\/p>\n
Wu earlier in the day assailed Washington for blocking China's
\nreturn to the world trade club GATT and vowed to tackle the issue
\nwith Kantor. She said at the signing that she hoped their talks
\nwould yield \"a very good result\".<\/p>\n
Kantor sounded almost victorious, crediting Wu's \"commitment
\nand creativity\" with forging the Feb. 26 deal that defused a
\ntrade war -- and opened China's entertainment market to U.S.
\nexporters.<\/p>\n
\"The sign of a good agreement is when both sides are winners
\nand I think this is clearly the case in this agreement on
\nintellectual property,\" Kantor said.<\/p>\n
Wu appeared edgy as Kantor told how the deal would benefit
\nU.S. vendors of copyrighted, trademarked and patented goods, and
\neven more so as he explained how U.S. law enforcers could help
\nChina uphold the intellectual property rights accord.<\/p>\n
Dozens of U.S. executives who came with Kantor in hopes of
\ntranslating the pact into new business nodded agreement.<\/p>\n
\"We are told that there are no quotas any more and that U.S.
\nmusic can be sold in China,\" said Jason Berman, who heads the
\nU.S. recorded music lobby.<\/p>\n
Berman said U.S. firms would move aggressively into China,
\nbringing in Western talent -- including country crooner Garth
\nBrooks very soon -- and fostering local talent.<\/p>\n
Beijing's concession allowing Hollywood and U.S. music
\npublishers to tap China's vast but impenetrable market was one of
\ntwo keys to the anti-piracy pact, the other being raids on plants
\nmaking counterfeit compact discs.<\/p>\n
But at a morning news conference, Wu said angrily that market
\naccess should never have been part of the talks and set a tone of
\nconfrontation for her talks with Kantor.<\/p>\n
She said that a Chinese proverb -- \"courtesy demands
\nreciprocity\" -- mandated a rude and perhaps retaliatory reply by
\nChina to what she called a broken U.S. vow to help China re-enter
\nthe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.<\/p>\n
Washington pledged in a 1992 memorandum of understanding on
\nmarket access in China to \"staunchly support\" Beijing's return to
\nGATT, but last year acted to block its accession -- a move Wu
\nbranded \"very regrettable\".<\/p>\n
\"Now that the U.S. side has not seriously implemented its
\ncommitment in the MOU (memorandum of understanding), the Chinese
\nside is entitled to express its displeasure,\" said Wu, whose
\ntough diplomacy has made her China's most powerful woman. \"The
\nChinese side is also entitled to take corresponding action.\"<\/p>\n
She did not say what reprisals she had in mind.<\/p>\n
The U.S. action dashed China's hopes of being a founder member
\nof the World Trade Organization, which replaced GATT on Jan.1.<\/p>\n
Kantor said it appeared China had halted implementation of the
\n1992 MOU, which obliged it to remove barriers to hundreds of
\nimports, and said WTO membership was a problem \"as long as China
\nthreatens to suspend\" the market-access pact.<\/p>\n
He said the U.S. Trade Law soon would force him to order
\ncountermeasures but declined to specify what China could do to
\navert such action.<\/p>\n
Kantor said China's WTO entry was also threatened by its
\n\"pillar industry\" policy in which it protects and subsidises
\ncarmaking, telecommunications and other key sectors.<\/p>\n
Citing China's export muscle and growing trade surpluses,
\nKantor has baulked at Beijing's bid to join GATT and the WTO as a
\ndeveloping economy meriting exemptions from stricter trade rules
\nimposed on developed countries.<\/p>\n
China responded by walking away from the GATT talks, calling
\nthe World Trade Organization a misnomer for excluding a major
\ntrade power with a fifth of the world's population.<\/p>\n
More recently, however, Beijing has signaled a desire to
\nresume its bid -- and has made clear that its WTO ambitions would
\nbe the focus of Wu Yi's talks with Kantor.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/china-signs-trade-pact-with-us-grudgingly-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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