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.