Brussels / Beijing, 31/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - The third session of Sino-European talks ended Friday, on the fourth day, without final agreement on the conditions for China's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Commissioner Pascal Lamy set off back for Brussels having agreed, on the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Shi Guangcheng, to return to Beijing to finalise negotiations "in the near future". His presence at the head of a team of some twenty technicians allowed for "progress on both sides resulting in a reduction in certain of the differences", he explained.
Mr. Lamy has now to brief Member States and the European Parliament on "what we secured and what remains before returning to our interlocutors", said a source close to the talks. The Commissioner considers that he showed "considerable flexibility" during talks that he had with Minister Shi and Prime Minister Zhu Rongji. "We may also say that, on the Chinese side, there was a genuine effort, but the current balance of the package that we are negotiating is not satisfactory", said the same source, recalling the difficulty of being among the last to try to secure concessions from Beijing. China has in fact already finalised some twenty bilateral agreements, which all the members of the WTO will benefit from under the most favoured nation clause. The EU, among 8 of the last that have not yet finished, hopes to be recognised, commercially speaking, as the other great Chinese partner, through a bilateral agreement with a "particular dimension that takes into account our significant trade relations," indicated the Europeans. In other words, all the concessions, gained at this stage, on the access to Chinese goods and services for which European feel particularly competitive, are not enough. Corroborating sources, Chinese and Community, firstly cite: i) the telecommunications services; the EU wants to gain rates of foreign participation in a firm or client above 49% (given to the Americans last November), to the profit of the Finnish mobile telephone firm Nokia; ii) life insurance services the European claim greater transparency and licences for their companies (AXA, Allianz, etc.) against the Americans (AIG) who have already grabbed nine out of the twenty available for foreign operators; iii) the customs duties on car; imports represent more than the double of Chinese exports and the authorities believe they have to continue to protect, through high tariffs, their producers. Also in the Europeans line of fire, access to financial services and distribution markets, as well as close to 400 tariff lines relating, among others, to agricultural equipment, glass, ceramics, cosmetics, leather and shoes, pharmaceutical agri-food products.
Posting their approval following the "positive, constructive and fruitful" discussions, the Chinese authorities underlined in a press release that "the two parties hope to make an agreement as soon as possible." "It is in the interest of each, of China and of the EU", concluded a Chinese spokesman, with reference to the following, multilateral, stage that Beijing must cross in order to come to the end of a quest lasting almost fourteen years aimed at acceding to the multilateral trade system. The WTO member countries will be called upon to give their views on China's candidature and to accept it (by a two-thirds majority) after the conclusion of all bilateral agreements. The last meeting of the working group in Geneva, responsible for preparing the accession protocol, has begun the "final phase of work", indicated the official report. The next meeting, scheduled for mid-May, should allow "significant progress on the main questions" to be accomplished, he said.