DATE=3/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-EU-WTO (L)
NUMBER=2-260715
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has met with
European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy amid
negotiations between the two sides on China's entry
into the World Trade Organization. VOA correspondent
Roger Wilkison reports from Beijing, concluding a deal
with the E-U is the last major stumbling block in
Beijing's 14-year quest to join the W-T-O.
TEXT: Diplomats see auspicious signs in the fact
Premier Zhu met for nearly an hour and a half with the
E-U's top trade official. It was Mr. Zhu, after all,
who stepped in at the last moment to help forge a
market-opening deal with the United States last
November. The reform-minded premier considers Chinese
membership in the W-T-O crucial. His reasoning is
that it will not only attract badly needed foreign
investment, but also spur China's state-owned
companies into becoming leaner and meaner so that they
can compete internationally.
Other than a terse report from China's state-run news
agency, describing the Zhu-Lamy talks as friendly and
frank, there were no other details on the meeting.
Mr. Lamy and Chinese Foreign Trade Minister Shi
Guangsheng were scheduled to hold a second day of
negotiations, as part of the third round of talks this
year between China and the E-U.
European diplomats caution, however, that the talks
are still at an early stage and that many obstacles
must be removed before there are signs of the progress
that both sides hope for. The E-U is seeking a better
deal than the one the United States got, especially in
the key automotive, insurance and telecommunications
sectors. But Chinese officials have said Beijing will
be hard-pressed to grant Brussels more concessions
than it gave Washington last year.
European diplomats say Mr. Lamy is ready to walk away
from the talks if the E-U does not get what it wants.
But one European commercial attache says he expects
the talks to go on through the rest of this week, at
least.
The last round of China-E-U trade talks in February,
in which Mr. Lamy did not take part, ended in a
stalemate. China said a deal was close, but the EU
insisted that not enough progress had been made.
(signed)
NEB/RW/FC
29-Mar-2000 04:36 AM EDT (29-Mar-2000 0936 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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