Brussels, 21/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - The China-European agreement, concluded in Brussels Wednesday evening by Commissioner Pascal Lamy and his counterpart Shi Guangsheng, lifts the last vital obstacle to China's joining the World Trade Organization. Having secured from Beijing confirmation of last year's bilateral undertakings, as well further concessions that resolve the last differences, the Union promised to put all its weight behind China in Geneva, from next week already, for the 141 members of the Club to settle the "one or two problems" remaining and allowing for a "rapid" happy outcome to the China's 15-year quest to become a member.
It is two days after a "constructive" one-to-one, suspended the time it took to make progress at expert level, that Lamy and Guangsheng put the finishing touches to the agreement settling the last differences of views between the Union and China on the terms of the country's membership of the WTO. The questions left in suspence since last year essentially concerned - say experts - telecommunications services, insurance and automobile, as well as Community exports of fertilizers. Other informed sources in Brussels, set out the details of the terms of the agreement on Thursday:
1. Services in general, where European negotiators secured the assurance that Union companies and, whence, "foreign ones", will be able to freely choose partners with which they may form a joint-venture to penetrate the Chinese market. In the retailing sector, companies requesting licences will see their request consigned to the Chinese register within a maximum of two months. For insurance, Beijing has promised to allow European brokers to extend their activities to the shipping, aviation and transport
sectors and to relax the demands for investments currently imposed on them (establishment of a threshold for a gradual reduction of investment required, possibility of developing internal branches on the Chinese market). These more encouraging conditions will be valid for all companies sharing the 7 operating licences promised last year and, this, as of the conclusion of the works by the competent WTO group - if it ends next 4 July, then it will be that date, underline the same sources, with a certain degree of optimism. Among all the areas covered by the bilateral agreement of May 2000, it is for services that the Europeans had the most apprehension following the blocking of Chinese-American negotiations at the beginning of the month. They have been reassured by their negotiators, and our "interests have been safeguarded.
2. Goods. Beijing undertook the lift all export restrictions, which are not justified within the framework of the WTO Agreements, including those that occasionally block Chinese exports (notably of raw materials) towards other countries. Finally, over fertilisers, the Union (for whom these are bearer products on foreign markets) obtained from Mr Shi the promise of receiving licences to be able to export 1.2 million tonnes of fertilisers per year, at the latest next 1 September.
Beijing will keep its promises, repeated Mr Shi during a meeting on Wednesday evening with the European Commission President. There is no reasons for doubting it, indicated the spokesperson's service.
The political will is obviously there and accession - formally sought since 1986 - will enable China, which represents the largest market in the world with its 1.2 billion consumers and whose economy is progressing at a sustained pace (in the order of 7% last year), to take a leap forward in its development, once the difficult reforms that it has already begun are behind her, sources in Brussels stress. The Union has, moreover, already promised technical assistance to help it integrate into the world trade system. and the respect of supra-national rules that this requires. In Brussels, sources now consider that "prospects are good" for the next session of the WTO working group on China's membership, which will mark the resumption of the multilateral process, placed in suspence since February last. "This is a very important outcome that creates very favourable conditions for the working groups 6th meeting, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign minister agreed in Geneva. Mr. Long Yongtu had, the day before, desperately hoped for a "fair and balanced" accession protocol and, on the timetable, had recalled that "there are still a few months" before the Qatar meeting in the autumn. "That depends on the members of the WTO", he said. "We shall continue working together in Geneva in order to finalise an agreement within the institution as soon as possible", perhaps by next week, promised Mr Lamy.
The Commission will then submit this agreement to the approval of the Council of Ministers and to the opinion of the European Parliament. Legal fine-tuning of the texts will then follow in Geneva, as in Brussels.
"It is gratifying that the EU and China are now in agreement (…) and that agreement could be reached during Sweden's Presidency of the EU. (…) It is positive for China and the EU, as well as for world trade as a whole", commented the Swedish Minister for Trade, Leif Pagrotsky. A press release from the Swedish EU Council Presidency stresses that Sweden and the EU "look forward to intensive cooperation with China in Geneva to finalise membership [to the WTO] as soon as possible".