Brussels, 06/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji is to meet, on Tuesday 11 July, the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, as well as Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy and Industry Commissioner Erkii Liikanen. For this first official visit by a Chinese Prime Minister to the Commission, Zhu Rongji will be accompanied by a large delegation including, above all, the Foreign Minister and the Governor of the People's Bank of China. Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten will meet, on 10 July, the Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan.
Talks should mainly pertain to:
1) On the economic front: the multi-lateralisation of bilateral agreements concluded by China for its membership to the World Trade Organisation. According to the Commission's indications, the work in Geneva on the text of China's accession protocol should be completed at the end of the year and allow China's entry to the WTO in January 2001. Points still to be settled mainly concern subsidies, safeguard measures and anti-dumping, and mechanisms for monitoring implementation of commitments taken by China. The transcription of commitments in the services sector also poses some problems, states the Commission. The meeting will allow stock to be taken on economic reforms in China and the aid that it will need to implement its commitments.
2) In the political sector: on the strengthening of dialogue on human rights which will be a priority for the EU, according to the spokesman for Commissioner Patten, Gunnar Wiegand. In March, the Council had regretted in its conclusions that the dialogue on human rights, resumed in 1997, was not "followed up". For three months, China and the EU have been studying about twenty solutions for "reviewing the direction that dialogue should take", it is explained at the Commission, adding that the parties agree that dialogue must give results but "there is a difference of opinion over what results are".
The meeting will also make it possible to take stock of the state of progress of the preparation for the next EU/China Summit (to be held in Beijing on 23d October) and the Asem Summit, to be held in Seoul on 19 and 20 October. The parties are expected to evoke the development of relations between the two Koreas. The EU will recall that its intention is to develop relations with Taiwan, said the spokesman for Commissioner Patten.
3) In cooperation matters: on projects being prepared and in progress in the fields of science and technology, energy, industrial dialogue, information technologies and transports. The parties are expected to mainly discuss the extension of the cooperation programme in the field of civil aviation, as well as the preparation of an agreement on maritime transport and on China's possible participation in the Galileo satellite navigation system.