China's WTO commitments on track
( 2003-12-10 23:56) (China Daily)
China should get a good mark for its performance on commitments it made to
the World Trade Organization, said Sun Zhenyu, the Chinese ambassador to the
WTO.
China has taken its commitments seriously since becoming a member of the
world trade body two years ago and has greatly improved its transparency on
foreign economic and trade policies.
"It is not an easy thing. But we
have made great efforts to keep promises, including lowering the tariff rates,
eliminating non-tariff measures, and relaxing limitations on foreign
investments,'' Sun said.
China's average tariff rate on farm products was
lowered to 16.8 per cent in 2003, far below the world average rate of 62 per
cent, Sun said.
In addition, all non-tariff measures on farm products
have been eliminated, Sun said.
"China even moved earlier in some areas
when it realized its commitment in opening the service market,'' Sun
added.
However, some foreign companies still have complaints about
China's slow action.
"It is not strange. It is not because China did not keep
its promises, but because foreign investors are too eager to enter the big
market,'' said Zhang Hanlin, president of the China Institute for WTO
Studies.
"If China did not stand by its commitments in commodity trade
and service trade, how can its imports surge so fast?'' Zhang asked.
In
the first 11 months, China's imports jumped 39.1 per cent to US$370.6
billion.
The trade surplus totalled US$19.7 billion in the first 11 months of
the year, dropping by 27.6 per cent from the same period last year.
No
country performs perfectly in accordance with its WTO promises, Zhang said, that
is why there are so many disputes in the world trade body.
"China behaves
well when comparing with other countries and its own past before it entered the
WTO,'' Zhang said.
Ian Kay, executive general manager of the European
Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said his organization is satisfied with
China's progress in implementing its WTO commitments overall.
Since
accession, China has implemented many of the prescribed changes as detailed in
the Protocol on Accession, particularly in the area of tariff reductions and
opening of the market, Kay said.He noted some of these even came ahead of
time.
"This last year, China's gradual readiness to consult before
implementing new regulations is another step forward in the opening-up process
and is especially welcomed,'' Kay said.
The Chamber has an optimistic
outlook on China and the implementation of its WTO commitments, he
said.
But he added there are still concerns about the protection of
intellectual property rights in China.
Zhang said the enforcement of IPR
protection is complicated in China, but that the government is sincere in trying
to improve the situation and many senior officials have vowed to facilitate work
on protecting intellectual property issues for foreign-funded
companies.
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