Economic ministers from ASEM member
countries will exchange views and opinions on the new round of WTO
free trade talks, and hope to reach common ground before the WTO
Ministerial Conference in Kankun in one month's time, the assistant
Minister of Commerce said at a press conference in Dalian Tuesday
afternoon.
The organizing committee of the
fifth ASEM Economic Minister's Meeting held its first press
conference Tuesday afternoon, introducing the latest preparation
and main topics for the Economic Ministers' Meeting (EMM).
Yi Xiaozhun, the assistant minister
of commerce, said that the Economic Ministers' Meeting was an
opportunity to discuss the current world economy, WTO talks and
ASEM cooperation.
One of the important topics of the
meeting will be to evaluate the impact of the Iraqi War and the
SARS epidemic on the world economy. China was the area hit hardest
by SARS, which claimed hundreds of lives and slowed down economic
growth. Economic Ministers from ASEM will also check and discuss
the implementation of trade and investment facilitation, and set
the top-priority fields for ASEM cooperation.
As for WTO issues, ASEM members will
exchange views and opinions on a new round of free trade talks, and
prepare for the upcoming WTO trade ministers' meeting at Cancun,
Mexico.
The Economic Ministers' Meeting will
also discuss issues of regional economic cooperation like the
establishment of free trade zones and the expansion of the European
Union.
Yi also introduced the latest
preparations for the ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting. He said that
250 officials from 26 ASEM members will attend the meeting,
including 20 economic ministers. Till 5 p.m, July 22, over 210
representatives had arrived in Dalian. Other representatives will
arrive at Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
In addition, 405 journalists from 73
domestic media and 13 overseas media will cover the fifth ASEM
Economic Ministers' Meeting.
Tuesday afternoon, Lu Fuyuan,
chairperson of the 5th ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting and Chinese
minister of commerce, met with visiting senior officials from
Vietnam, Austria, Denmark, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Finland
in Dalian.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Tang
Fuchun, July 23, 2003)