DATE=10/12/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=CHINA-W-T-O (L ONLY) NUMBER=2-254898 BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON DATELINE=BEIJING CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: China says it still hopes to join the World Trade Organization this year, despite growing pessimism among its major western trade partners that it can get into the group before a W-T-O ministerial meeting at the end of November. VOA correspondent Roger Wilkison reports China -- which would remain a major trading nation even without W-T-O membership -- continues to insist that it join the group as a developing country, which would allow it more time to open up its markets. TEXT: The two major stumbling blocks for China to join the W-T-O are the United States and the European Union, both of which have demanded that Beijing commit to open its markets further than it wants. Officials in both Brussels and Washington have recently been pouring cold water on China's chances of joining the 134-member organization before a new round of W-T-O talks begin November 30th. Top U-S and E-U trade officials say the pace of their respective negotiations with China has slowed considerably. They say China's accession before that informal deadline looks more and more difficult. Considerable time was lost after China suspended its W-T-O-related negotiations with the United States and the European Union last May, in anger over NATO's bombing of its embassy in Yugoslavia. Negotiations with the United States resumed last month, and talks with the E-U began again last Sunday. European officials say no date was set for the next meeting. In the U-S-China talks, Washington continues to insist that Beijing recommit to a package of concessions it says premier Zhu Rongji offered when he visited Washington last April. China has balked at those demands, saying a list of alleged Chinese concessions published by Washington contains several errors. China's foreign ministry says President Jiang Zemin will take up the issue of China's W-T-O membership when he visits Britain, France and Portugal starting next week. But spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue says Mr. Jiang does not need to conduct negotiations with the leaders of those countries on the details of the issue. Speaking through an interpreter, Ms. Zhang says China still wants to join W-T-O. /////INTERPRETER ACTUALITY///// China has always adopted a positive attitude towards its accession to W-T-O, and this position remains unchanged. That is, China hoped to accede to W-T-O, but China is a universally recognized developing country, and China must insist on striking a balance between obligations and rights. /////END ACTUALITY///// Ms. Zhang says China's accession to W-T-O does not depend on its own efforts but on those of its negotiating partners. It is they who have always been keen to get Beijing to open its markets. But China knows that, whether or not it joins the organization, it will still remain a major player in world trade even though a failure to get in could hurt Beijing's efforts to attract the foreign investment it needs to continue reforming its economy. (signed) NEB/RW/FC/PLM 12-Oct-1999 06:39 AM EDT (12-Oct-1999 1039 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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