China Watch Blog

Yes, the headline is correct. China Watch Blog has picked up news that China will further reduce tariffs for agricultural products and industrial goods by around 30%.

A People’s Daily report reports that  according to some agreement already reached in the field of services trade, China has opened more than 100 of the 160 categories of the services sectors, and has promised to open 11 more.

Shanghai Securities News has reported Chen Deming, China’s Minister of Commerce,  who attended a meeting in Beijing on July 21 with visiting WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy on the Doha round of trade talks, as iterating  China’s firm support for the Doha round negotiation.

“To push forward negotiations, WTO members should seize the opportunity of the 2011 Doha round of talks, optimize the negotiation results and seek breakthroughs based on concrete proposals,” he said.

Lamy said the Doha round started nearly 9 years ago, and it will impact WTO’s credibility if the agreements cannot be reached in 2011. Therefore, every member is expected to make joint efforts, push negotiations to make substantive progress and send positive signals through the G20 Seoul Summit to win more political supports for the Doha round of talks.

Since its entry into the WTO in December 2001, China has seized opportunities and actively participated in the multilateral trading regime. For the past nine years, China has abided by WTO rules, lived up to the extensive commitments it has made and made comprehensive adjustment to its trade regime and trade policy, which has won admiration and approval of WTO members and the international community.

As of 2010, China has implemented all commitments it made upon entry into the WTO, established an economic and trade regime consistent with prevailing international rules and become one of the most open markets in the world.

China Watch Blog has spotted this China Daily News which quoted senior World Trade Organization (WTO) experts on Friday welcoming China’s improved offer to join the WTO government procurement agreement (GPA). They said it was a significant step that would improve the nation’s global image.

Criticizing the tactics adopted by countries like the United States to pressure China, the experts said the GPA member nations themselves are unable to ensure fair and equal treatment for foreign nations.

Deputy US trade representative Demetrios Marantis had earlier said in Washington that China has submitted a new offer to join the WTO agreement on government procurement. He said the revised offer includes significant improvements and was better than the earlier proposal submitted by China in 2007.

WTO experts from China have also welcomed the revised offer. Although details about the new offer are still unclear, “the revised offer indicates that China is more positive and flexible on the GPA issue”, said Tong Zhiguang, former vice-minister of commerce and chief WTO negotiator.

The Ministry of Commerce declined to elaborate on the new proposal and said it was still under negotiation.

“Given that China is one of the leading exporters and trading nations in the world, the relaxation of curbs on government procurement will not hurt the nation too much,” Tong said.

Marantis said the new proposal is a “solid step toward ensuring China’s huge government procurement market is open to US companies”. US officials estimate the size of the government procurement market in China at around $500 billion.