EU set to hold fresh talks with China

Date: 06/04/2000

By Shada Islam

EU and Chinese negotiators are set to resume bilateral negotiations on Beijing's entry into the World Trade Organisation early next month, despite the unexpected failure of long-awaited talks last week between Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and Chinese Foreign Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng.

EU officials say Lamy, who spent four days in Beijing trying to inject political momentum into the discussions, could return to China to resume negotiations in early May or late April. He will brief EU foreign ministers on the state of play next Monday (10 April).

Clinching a deal with the Union is crucial if China is to succeed in its 14-year quest to join the WTO. But negotiations are proving more difficult than many expected, with Beijing officials reluctant to meet EU demands for better market-opening concessions than those granted to the US in key sectors last November.

Beijing is believed to be particularly unwilling to allow foreign firms a controlling stake in telecoms ventures and in the banking and life-insurance sectors. The US settled for a 50% share in both sectors and Chinese officials argue that the EU's demands strike at the heart of their country's "national interests" and are unacceptable.

The Union, determined to prove that it is no push-over, is equally adamant that it will not be pressed into concluding an agreement that does not meet its key exporting interests. The EU's hand has been strengthened by trade figures showing China needs Union markets more than they need it. In the first 11 months of 1999, the EU imported €45 billion worth of Chinese goods while selling only €17.6 billion of products on the Chinese market.

EU and Chinese negotiators are set to resume bilateral negotiations on Beijing's entry into the World Trade Organisation, despite the unexpected failure of long-awaited talks between Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and Chinese Foreign Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng.