DATE=5/15/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-EU-WTO (L)
NUMBER=2-262365
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China and the European Union have resumed
talks in Beijing on China's accession to the World
Trade Organization. V-O-A correspondent Roger
Wilkison reports the absence of a deal with the E-U is
the only major obstacle to China's entry into the body
that makes the rules for global trade.
TEXT: E-U Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy sat down for
90 minutes with Chinese Foreign Trade Minister Shi
Guangsheng Monday after calling for greater Chinese
flexibility in the negotiations. China has been
reluctant to grant the E-U bigger concessions than it
gave the United States in a market-opening deal last
November. But Brussels has insisted that the China /
U-S deal only satisfies about 80 percent of its
concerns.
Specifically, the E-U wants more concessions in
telecommunications, financial services - including
insurance - and automobiles. Before leaving Brussels,
Mr. Lamy said he would press China to allow foreign
mobile-phone operators to take stakes of at least 50
percent in joint ventures and indicated he would not
budge from that stand.
Under the U-S / China deal, foreigners can take a 49
percent stake in mobile phone services - but only
after China has been a W-T-O member for five years.
As is the case with the U-S / China pact, any
concessions Mr. Lamy may obtain from China would apply
to all other W-T-O members. If China and the E-U
strike a deal this week, it could have an impact on a
crucial upcoming vote in the U-S Congress.
As part of last year's U-S / China trade agreement,
Washington must end its annual review of China's
trading status and permanently grant Beijing the same
low-tariff access to the U-S market that nearly every
other country enjoys. Otherwise, U-S firms will be
unable to reap the benefits of the concessions
obtained from China by U-S negotiators.
Although the legislation is expected to pass in the
Senate, members of the House of Representatives -
concerned about a loss of U-S jobs and China's human
rights situation - have expressed strong opposition to
the bill. The Clinton Administration, which has
lobbied hard for the package, acknowledges that the
vote, scheduled for next week, is too close to call.
(Signed)
NEB/RW/JO/KL
15-May-2000 07:41 AM EDT (15-May-2000 1141 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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