Japan and China cite 'progress' at WTO talks

Japan and China cite 'progress' at WTO talks

BEIJING (AFP): Beijing and Tokyo negotiators have issued a
joint statement citing "substantive progress" in a just-ended
round of talks on China's accession to the World Trade
Organization (WTO), the official Xinhua news agency said
yesterday.

The two sides completed an overall framework agreement on
market access in goods trade during the negotiations -- held in
Tokyo on Aug. 27 and Aug. 29 and here from Sept. 2 to Sept. 3 --
the statement released on Thursday said.

They agreed on tariff reductions and abolition of non-tariff
barriers such as important quotas and vowed to speed up efforts
to reach a bilateral service trade agreement.

The statement said the two countries are "satisfied to see
large, substantive progress in bilateral negotiations."

Although the WTO talks were proceeding independently of
Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's current visit to
China, the joint statement was approved during a meeting he held
on Thursday with China's premier, Li Peng.

Long Yongtu, the head Chinese negotiator, was quoted as saying
that before China can join the WTO, it will not only have to
successfully complete multilateral negotiations in Geneva, but
forge bilateral market-access agreements with each of its trading
partners.

The agreement reached on Sino-Japanese goods trade is
"significant and will propel the process of multilateral
negotiations" because Japan is China's biggest trade partner.

He pledged that Beijing would take a flexible and practical
approach in continuing WTO talks with various countries.

China is eager to join the global body as soon as possible,
but members including the United States and European countries
charge it must first open its economy more fully to foreign
businesses and imports.