Chinese trade experts urged developed members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be more flexible so that the new round of trade liberalization talks can progress smoothly.
Developed members have benefited more from the multilateral trading system than developing members and should shoulder more responsibilities and show more political willingness and flexibility in order to achieve the goals of the new round, said Xue Rongjiu, a professor with Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics and director of the China Society for WTO Studies.
Developed members must put developing members' concerns at the top of the agenda of the new round and ensure their effective participation and allow them to share from the benefits of the new round of multilateral negotiations, he said.
The professor attributed slow progress at the Doha round of negotiations to developed members' lack of flexibility.
Xue yesterday spoke at the China WTO Forum and the inaugural ceremony of China WTO Report 2003, an annual publication compiled by the China Society for WTO Studies.
In a congratulatory letter, WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi said stable progress has been made in some fields such as services, non-agricultural products' market access and rules and the environment.
But WTO members were supposed to have reached agreement on the guidelines and targets for their negotiations on reducing farming subsidies and tariffs last month, but positions were so entrenched that the March 31 deadline could not be met.
The failure comes hot on the heels of the missed end-of-December deadline for an accord on ensuring patent rules do not hamper access to life-saving medicines for poorer countries and regions without a pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.
The 145 members were also supposed to have, but failed to, found agreement by last July on how to help developing members participate more fully in the global trade body.
If the new round of negotiations could complete as scheduled and with balanced agreements, this will benefit both developed and developing members alike, said Xue.
Developed members could ultimately benefit from the new round of trade liberalization talks only if they benefit developing members, he said.
New WTO members' careful implementation of accession commitments should be supported and recognized as contributing to the multilateral trading system and the new round, but should not be taken as excuses for other developing members to take on similar responsibilities, said Ma Yu, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Co-operation and editor-in-chief of the China WTO Report 2003.
(China Daily April 10, 2003)
