The 6th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference
scheduled to be held in Hong Kong from December 13 to 18 aims to
settle a range of questions that should shape the final agreement
of the Doha Development Agenda.
Sun Zhenyu, China's ambassador to the WTO gave Beijing Youth
Daily his forecast for the upcoming meeting and what he
thought would be a significant driver for a successful
implementation to the Doha Development Agenda.
The interview was published on November 20. These are the key
excerpts of that interview:
Beijing Youth Daily (BYD): WTO
negotiations were deadlocked again earlier this year. Will the Hong
Kong meeting help to resolve this deadlock?
Sun Zhenyu (Sun):? The success of the Hong
Kong conference depends on what goals WTO members hope to
achieve.
The WTO suffered a setback with its ministerial conference in
Cancun, Mexico, in 2003. That ended with no result. WTO members had
previously hoped to finalize the framework of the new round of
negotiations.
It was only in July 2004, one year after the Cancun meeting,
that a framework was agreed upon. However, negotiations soon came
to another standstill. Members hoped that a draft agreement could
be reached by the end of July this year, with the help of the WTO
Mini-ministerial Meeting in Dalian from July 12 to 13 However,
that, too, failed.
Major WTO members therefore spelled out what the main points
were to be for the Hong Kong meeting. This they did in October.
Many ideas and proposals were put forward. On November 9, a WTO
ambassador's meeting was held in Geneva to analyze the situation
and adjust the tasks to be carried out in Hong Kong.
So, there's been a shift from just trying to bang out main
points to reaping small rewards. For example, members have proposed
to agree on tariff and quota-free rights for the most
underdeveloped countries, and set a timetable for the next round of
talks. If we regard these as our goals, the Hong Kong conference is
likely to be a success.
BYD: Does this mean lowering original targets
of the Doha Development Agenda?
Sun: Not necessarily. In spite of the consensus
that expectations should be lowered, members have agreed not to
lower the Doha targets. Lowering expectations is to reduce the risk
of failure like that experienced at the Cancun conference. Agreeing
on a date for negotiations always takes a long time. Since it would
be obviously impossible to reach a full-scale agreement, lowering
expectations is a realistic option.
BYD: What caused the deadlock of the Doha Round
of Talks this year?
Sun: Talks that focus on the agriculture sector
are bound to be sullied by claims of high tariffs and high
subsidies. Agriculture is a sensitive topic for many countries. On
October 10, the United States brought forward a plan to cut
agriculture subsidies on its agricultural sector. It is a step
forward, albeit a small one. The European Union also announced they
would lower tariffs on agricultural products. But this was
criticized by many for its lack of ambition. A gridlock in
agriculture negotiations will invariably lead to a stalemate in
negotiations on products and services trade.
BYD: What is China's stance on the Doha round
of talks?
Sun: If progress is made on the Doha agenda, a
good environment will be created for world economic development,
setting up favorable conditions for China and other developing
countries. As one of 148 WTO members and a major trading power,
China has been exerting active and constructive pressure in
negotiations, pushing for timely results. China also tries to make
contributions within its abilities. As a developing country, China
hopes to solve the trade imbalance through talks.
BYD: As a developing country member of the WTO,
which sectors does China want to expand and which does it want to
protect?
Sun: Take agriculture for example. China's
agricultural sector can't compete with some other countries;
especially not for land-intensive products like grain and cotton.
On the other hand, we own some distinctive agricultural products,
like fowl, fruit and vegetable. China has comparative advantages in
these products because they are all labor-intensive. China has a
huge competitive advantage for general industrial products, but not
for high-end fished products, for instance. So, we will promote the
export of products for which we have competitive advantages and
protect those product sectors that are not as strong.
Any deal reached on the Doha Development Agenda will have huge
impact on our country. This is why we have to actively participate
in talks. We will try our best to get a balanced result. The prime
goal is to lower tariffs and subsidies. At the same time, we should
give full consideration to the fragile economies of other
developing countries, and implement certain protection measures.
The principle of the Doha Development Agenda is to achieve goals of
trade liberalization as well as development.
BYD: Which service sectors does China care
about the most? How open are these sectors?
Sun: In general, our service sectors are not
highly developed. Only a few sectors have some competitive
advantage such as ocean-line shipping, tourism, Chinese language
education, and computer services. The challenge we face is that
some developed countries protect their domestic sectors with trade
barriers, including tests and standards, making it difficult for
Chinese products to penetrate their markets. We hope that the
export of our services can be promoted through talks.
But China's finance, telecommunications and special service
sectors are booming and developed countries hope to further expand
into these sectors. During negotiations for China's entry to the
WTO, we committed to opening many sectors. We cannot open any
additional sectors. We have to persuade other WTO members to
understand China's difficulties.
(China.org.cn by Tang Fuchun, November 30, 2005)