DATE=5/26/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-WTO (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262837
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China's top trade negotiator is trying to
convince the country's ailing state-owned enterprises
of the benefits of China joining the World Trade
Organization. V-O-A correspondent Roger Wilkison
reports Long Yongtu is assuring worried public sector
managers that China's opening to foreign competition
will be gradual and that changes will not come
overnight.
TEXT: The English-language China Daily reports Mr.
Long, who is also Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade, told
Chinese executives at a forum in Shanghai Thursday
that they should prepare for foreign competition. But
he tempered his call for readiness by saying state-
owned firms still have time to get their act together.
And he warned Beijing's trading partners not to force
change too quickly upon China because - in his words -
it could bring about a backlash. The China Daily did
not elaborate on the nature of such a backlash.
Mr. Long has been an enthusiastic booster of China's
membership in the W-T-O. Like other reformers in the
bureaucracy, he hopes competition from foreign firms
will help China's creaky state-owned enterprises shape
up. The China Daily says he enumerated the problems
Chinese companies face in preparing for the impact of
globalization on the domestic market: massive
overproduction, outdated equipment, poor management
and too much government interference.
But in urging them to get ready for the foreign
onslaught, Mr. Long is also trying to reassure Chinese
managers, politicians and bureaucrats, who are worried
that more open markets will lead to wholesale factory
shutdowns and increasing unemployment. The China
Daily quotes him as saying that Beijing will open the
trade gates carefully.
Mr. Long's reported remarks came hours after the U-S
House of Representatives approved granting Chinese
exports permanent low-tariff access to the U-S market.
That is part of a Sino-US trade pact negotiated last
November which paves the way for China to enter the W-
T-O. Last week, China concluded a similar deal with
the European Union. It still needs to strike
agreements with five other countries.
A U-S official told reporters in Beijing Friday he
expects the implementation of China's entry into the
W-T-O will be difficult and long-term. The official
says it will take quite a while to change a trading
regime that has not been totally open to the outside
world. As part of its accession to the W-T-O, China
has pledged to slash tariffs and open its markets more
widely, especially in the service sector. (signed)
NEB/HK/RW/JO/KBK
26-May-2000 08:00 AM EDT (26-May-2000 1200 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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