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Mr.
Chairman,I
am pleased to lead the Chinese Delegation to the twelfth
session of the Working Party on China and to continue the
discussions on the Draft Protocol and the Draft Working
Party Report with the Working Party members.
With
the signing of the bilateral agreement between China and
Switzerland on 26 September, the bilateral negotiations
on China's WTO accession have largely come to an end.
Since the beginning of this year, we have intensified our
work on the drafting of various legal instruments on
China's accession, which marks the transition of the
focus of China's accession to the multilateral process of
this negotiations in the final stage. In view of the fact
that the legal instruments drafted by the Working Party
will summarize the process of China's GATT assumption and
WTO accession in the past 14 years and will make a
comprehensive record of China's rights and obligations in
WTO, the Chinese Delegation have attached great
importance to it and will work conscientiously with other
members of the Working Party to accomplish this important
work in the spirit of consultations on equal basis.
During this session, China has submitted the consolidated
tariff schedule. We hope that the parities concerned will
begin the verifications as soon as possible and we are
ready to conduct technical clarifications with the
Members concerned.
Mr.
Chairman,
I agree to your summary and assessment on the result of
this session. We have continued to make some important
progress this time. Of course, differences still remain
in the drafting of these legal instruments which require
a large amount of work. In this connection, I would like
to share with you China's positions on some important
issues in order to facilitate the future work:
First,
on the relation between the multilateral negotiations and
the implementation of bilateral agreement. As for all the
commitments made in the bilateral negotiations, China
will strictly abide by and implement in a faithful
manner. At the same time, however, China requests the
parities concerned to respect the results of bilateral
negotiations in the same spirit. Since bilateral
agreements have already contained detailed provisions on
implementation, for instance, there are detailed
provisions on the administration of TRQs. The relevant
WTO Agreements, such as the Agreement on Import
Licensing, also contain provisions on administration
procedures. It is inappropriate and unnecessary to invent
a new set of rules specifically for China. We would find
difficult to accept new requests on the excuse of
ensuring the implementation of the agreements. We believe
that this is in fact an attempt to re-open negotiation on
the bilateral agreements already signed. China has made
its utmost efforts in the bilateral negotiations in the
past. Many negotiations were painstaking and the
agreements reached are complicated and were the
reflection of interests of various parties in a balanced
manner. It is impossible now for China to make
commitments on market access beyond those contained in
the bilateral agreements.
In
the final analysis, the issue of implementation is a
question of mutual trust. If there is a lack of mutual
confidence, the provisions are of no use, no matter how
detailed they are.
Secondly,
on the contents of multilateral legal instruments. The
Draft Working Party Report is the collection and outline
of the negotiations in the past 14 years. There will be
reasonable and necessary clarifications and explanations
on the relevant issues in the negotiations. Every party,
however, should not pose new requests at this stage, or
attempt to include the contents which have never been
negotiated in the past 14 years. This could only make
things complicated. Every party has the right to express
its viewpoints in the Draft Working Party Report, but
should not impose its views on others and should not
insert discriminatory and inappropriate language to the
acceding parties. The contents and language of the Repot
should be fair, balanced and accurate.
Thirdly,
on the timing of concluding the negotiations. During the
last session of the Working Party, some members expressed
their support on China's WTO accession this year. We
support this timeframe and are willing to make positive
efforts to achieve that goal. Of course, we care not only
the specific timing of accession, but also the terms of
accession. What is important is that the results of the
negotiations shall on the whole ensure China’s
accession is based on the balance between rights and
obligations. We can not accept provisions which are
detrimental to China's legitimate rights under WTO.
Judging from the current situations, China’s
accession is only a matter of time. If China's accession
process is further delayed, the party to be harmed most
is the business communities of the WTO Members. We have
been requested to grant immediate market access
opportunities in the bilateral negotiations. Now, the
market access opportunities are close within reach, the
early accession of China is conducive to Chinese and
foreign enterprises to operate in a stable and
predictable legal environment, and enjoy the significant
commercial benefit to be brought about by the market
access commitments of China.
Mr.
Chairman,
At this final stage of negotiations, the mutual
understanding and cooperation between various parties are
of vital importance. China is willing to straighten its
cooperation with various parties and will make concerted
efforts for the realization of China's accession to the
WTO this year.
Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
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