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UPDATED: 09:46, July 14, 2005
China Focus: Dalian meeting encouraging for WTO members



A typical conference venue was set up for trade officials in Furama Hotel in Dalian Wednesday, but Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai preferred to call it a "stage".

Bo, also chairman of the two-day World Trade Organization ( WTO) Informal Ministerial Meeting, which ended on Wednesday, said, "We have provided a stage for the WTO members, also a signal that the Chinese government has actively supported the spirit of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiation."

It is the first time for China to hold such kind of event since the country joined WTO in 2001. "The event means that China has actively participated in making international trade rules," said Bo, adding that for the WTO, the meeting is a key stepping stone for the Sixth WTO Informal Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in December 2005. It also reaffirms that the international trade liberalization process has remained as the realistic option for most countries, including developing ones.

The meeting, with essential parts condensed within one day and a half, may make non-WTO experts feel totally lost. Trade jargon was flung casually within the meeting's sections. However, it is a kind of intense "economic gaming" for those who are keeping close eyes on world multi-lateral trade progress.

There is not much time left for the WTO members on the DDA negotiation, which was named after the small city of Doha, Qatar. Big divergences exist among different members.

The G20, made up by developing countries China, India, and Brazil, is asking the developed countries to eliminate their export subsidies for agriculture products and cut down their domestic support of agriculture. Using non-tariff barriers, developed countries restrict agriculture products imports from developing countries, and subsidize domestic agriculture to enhance their competition capability in international markets.

Divergences lie in almost all major subjects, such as agriculture, non-agriculture products, service trade, development and rules.

Supachai, the WTO Director General, even felt "very pessimistic" before the Dalian meeting, saying, "We only have a couple of days; not a couple of weeks." He held that the DDA talks are encountering a crisis.

"The timetable is very urgent", said John Tsang, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, who will chair the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference. "We are at a critical juncture," said Tsang.

In the cool breeze of Dalian, 30 trade ministers and WTO officials have had hot discussions on various DDA subjects.

As the Dalian meeting chairman, Bo Xilai met with the EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, the US Trade Representative Rob Portman, Brazil Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Amorim and other participants in a very short period.

Bo stressed that China demands a sharp reduction or even elimination of the export subsidies and domestic support for agriculture products in developed countries, and the provision of the most efficient help to least developed countries (LDC).

China also strongly opposes the sub-division of developing countries.

"China is a responsible country. Even though it faces hard problems in economic development, it has actively pushed forward the DDA negotiation," said Bo.

The meeting process was encouraging in the subjects of agriculture, non-agriculture market access, trade service and development. All members agreed to provide necessary flexibility to members from developing countries and signaled the possibility of adding other formulas in the trade service negotiations.

Divergences will not be eliminated in a day for such a complicated world trade negotiation, which involves 148 voices.

At the news conference after the meeting, Supachai said, "We can hold optimistic views on some specific areas."

Not only are the achieved results treasured, but also the "political input" expressed by members from both developing and developed countries, who were sitting down together to discuss subjects of common interest.

Jim Peterson, the Minister of International Trade in Canada, said that failure would be neither the option for developed countries, nor for developing ones. "We are still faced with hard problems, and so we must work hard for our goal," said Peterson.

Source: Xinhua

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