EU hopes to make progress on WTO issues with China

Asian Economic News, Oct 23, 2000

HONG KONG, Oct. 18 Kyodo

The European Union (EU) hopes to make progress in talks with China next week on outstanding issues involving its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), EU Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten said Wednesday.

Patten said European Commission President Romano Prodi and European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will be in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday for the third EU-China summit, which will focus on trade issues.

''It's our experience that doing business with (Chinese Premier) Zhu Rongji normally helps to make progress on these issues, and I hope it will be the case next week,'' Patten told a press conference in Hong Kong before flying to Seoul for the third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) from Friday.

Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong before it returned to China in July 1997, arrived Tuesday for a two-day visit and talks with Hong Kong government and business leaders.

Next week's EU-China summit will discuss Beijing's bid to join WTO, as well as Taiwan, illegal immigration, human rights, and science and technology cooperation programs.

In particular, Patten said the EU hopes to resolve with China its accession to the insurance market, and distribution and retailing in the country.

''We've to get the details right, otherwise problems will stretch out and multiply down the road,'' he said, adding that it may end up taking up the cases to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.

Speaking at a luncheon organized by the European Chamber of Commerce earlier Wednesday, Patten said China has not yet met the demands of WTO members on a number of outstanding questions.

Still, the EU wants to see the early WTO accession of China, as well as Vietnam, he said.

''China's accession will ultimately benefit not only Asia, but Europe and the whole international community,'' he said. ''And because accession and economic reforms are inextricably linked, it is bound to change China, and only for the better.''

''Ultimately an open trading system goes hand in hand with the promotion of pluralism and representative government,'' Patten said.

Meanwhile, Patten said he will visit Belgrade on Monday to discuss the reopening of economic ties with the new government of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and the provision of emergency aid to ease problems expected during the winter months.

On Oct. 8, Kostunica was sworn in as Yugoslavia's president, ending more than a decade of the iron-fisted rule of Slobodan Milosevic and returning the country into the fold of the international community.

During the ASEM summit in Seoul, the European Commission will update Asian countries on the developments in the Balkan region and discuss how the group can work together to consolidate democracy and stability in the area, Patten said .

He said a new Asia strategy will be proposed next year by the European Commission, following one in 1994 that gave higher priority to Asia, to further strengthen European ties with Asia.

''I believe that our new Asia strategy, which I hope to elaborate next year, should reflect the strong, common agenda between Asia and Europe, and demonstrate how we can work together to make a success of the global economy,'' he said.