Foreign Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng said Tuesday that China will be actively involved in the new round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a member of the global trade body.
However, China holds that the new round of talks should be conducive to the establishment of a new international economic order that is fair, just and rational, beneficial to global economic development and trade and investment facilitation, and favorable to striking a balance between interests of developed and developing countries.
The minister made the remarks at a press conference sponsored by the on-going Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress.
China Expected to Absorb 45 Bn-50 Bn USD of Foreign Fund in 2002
Shi Guangsheng said that China is expected to attract 45 billion to 50 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment this year.
Last year, China absorbed 69.19 billion U.S. dollars of contractual foreign investment and actually used 46.8 billion U.S. dollars, up 10.43 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively, from the previous year.
The amount of foreign investment actually used last year hit an all time high, the minister said at the press conference.
China May Appeal to WTO over US Steel Tariffs
China retains the right to appeal to the World Trade Organization against the United States over its decision to increase tariffs on steel imports, said Shi Guangsheng.
The minister said that China considers the decision by the United States to increase tariffs on imported steel as an act of trade protectionism, and believes the move goes against the WTO rules.
The difficulty the U.S. steel sector encounters is not caused by steel imports, but by its own restructuring, said the minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation at a press conference on the sidelines of the on-going session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.
The move by the Bush administration has hampered the world's steel trade, the minister said, and it will not solve the difficulty of the U.S. steel industry, but has increased the burden on the consumers and weakened the competitiveness of its products.
"We are closely following the development of the situation, and the Chinese side will retain its rights to further reaction, including appeal to the WTO trade dispute mechanism," said the minister.
China Ready to Participate in Globalization
China will actively participate in globalization as it opens wider to the outside world after last December's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Shi said.
The accession to WTO will "create more favorable international environment for China's reform and opening-up and enables China to play an active and constructive role in the improvement of the multilateral trade system," Shi said.
He noted that in June last year, China held a successful meeting of APEC ministers responsible for trade in Shanghai, which facilitated the launch of a new round of multilateral trade negotiations at the Doha Conference.
China has also made new progress in market diversification by forging closer bilateral ties with the Commonwealth of Independent States, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa, while further boosting economic ties with major trade partners such as the United States, the European Union and Asian countries.
"Progress in this regard has proved to the world that China, with its increased openness, is more poised to participate in globalization," the minister said.
"Facing the new situation brought about by the WTO accession, we shall seize the opportunities and meet challenges by overcoming the adverse impact of global economic sluggishness on China's foreign trade and economic cooperation," he said.
"We will also bring closer economic interactions between China and all countries and regions in the world to promote both China's economic growth and its foreign trade and economic cooperation," the minister added.
China Sets Record in Using Overseas Investment
China used a record 46.8 billion U.S. dollars in overseas investment in 2001, a rise of 14.9 percent from the previous year, Foreign Trade Minister Shi said.
China absorbed 69.19 billion U.S. dollars in contractual foreign investment last year, a yearly increase of 10.43 percent.
Obvious increase was recorded in the number of newly-approved high-tech projects, information technology and large petrochemical projects and foreign-funded research and development centers.
At the same time, more overseas investment went to central and western China, Shi said at the press conference sponsored by the on-going Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress.
Trade Minister Urges Protection of Mainland Fishermen's Interests
The Taiwan authorities should fully protect the legitimate interests of mainland fishermen who are working in Taiwan, he said.
Non-governmental organizations across the Taiwan Straits should negotiate with each other on the issue as soon as possible in order to find a resolution, Shi said at the press conference.
There used to be about 30,000 mainland fishermen working in Taiwan, but their legitimate interests were not fully safeguarded sometimes, Shi said.
Therefore, the mainland has suspended labor service export to Taiwan in this field, he said.
Foreign Trade Maintains Good Development Momentum
China still maintains a good momentum of steady development in foreign trade and economic cooperation judging from the progress made in January-February this year, the minister pointed out.
Shi, minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation, said China's foreign trade volume reached 75.729 billion U.S. dollars in the first two months of this year, up 8.8 percent on a yearly basis. Of the total, exports jumped 14.1 percent to 40.84 billion U.S. dollars and imports grew 3.2 percent to 34.889 billion U.S. dollars.
In the two months, China absorbed 11.449 billion U.S. dollars in contractual foreign investment and used 5.874 billion U.S. dollars, up 24.41 percent and 28.37 percent year on year, respectively, Shi said.
Shi expressed confidence that China's accession to the World Trade Organization will inject new vigor into China's reform and opening-up, and push forward the Chinese economy and foreign trade and economic cooperation for new development.
China Honors Promise to WTO in Making Rules
China has strictly honored its commitments to the WTO in formulating the regulations on banking, insurance and telecom service that have been promulgated recently, Shi said.
Shi dismissed as misinterpretation the claim that the regulations on banking and telecom service have violated the spirit embodied in the WTO agreements it signed as they provide that no more than one foreign bank will be allowed to open China branch a year and foreign investors in the telecom sector have to wait 310 days before getting the license.
The regulations have been wrongly construed, said the minister. As a participant in WTO talks, I know that the opening of the service trade is conditional, including time, content and geographical area, which have their transitional periods.
China Opposes Abuse of Anti-dumping
China is one of the major victims of anti-dumping in the world and it will use relevant WTO rules to protect its own interests, China's foreign trade minister said .
China has been the target in 485 anti-dumping cases, the minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation said at the press conference held by the ongoing session of the National People's Congress.
China firmly opposes the abuse of anti-dumping for trade protectionism purposes, and anti-dumping should be carried out in strict accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Shi said.
China will deal with the anti-dumping issue in accordance with the WTO rules, the minister said, adding that two special agencies have been established to investigate and determine dumping of foreign products in China.
March 13, 2002
Source: www.people.com.cn
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