WTO issue causes angst - World Trade Organization

Business Asia, Sept 30, 1999

APEC leaders have called for the early admission into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of China, Taiwan and two other members currently shut out of the WTO.

Of the 21 APEC economies, only mainland China, Taiwan, Russia and Vietnam have yet to join the world trade regulatory body. The most controversial exclusions are China and Taiwan.

Taiwan, which has completed all the scheduled bilateral negotiations with WTO members on its trade regime, is just a step away from WTO membership. The issue is a burr in China's side, as it still considers Taiwan a part of the mainland.

The issue was one of the more inflammatory at APEC this year.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Don McKinnon stunned a packed press conference at the end of the APEC ministers' meeting when he tried unsuccessfully to stop questions from Taiwanese journalists.

McKinnon took exception to a series of questions, mainly in Mandarin, from Taiwanese reporters that seemed more to do with one-upmanship on China than with trade liberalisation.

Earlier, Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Chih Kang sought to clarify reports that senior APEC officials had dropped plans to endorse China and Taiwan's accession to the WTO.

Wang said Taiwan supported any economy's admission to the WTO provided it met appropriate requirements.