Deal Expected to Be Inked With Mexico

China and Mexico are widely expected to wrap up bilateral talks on China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Friday and finalize the deal in August.

The Mexican delegation conducted talks with Long Yongtu, WTO chief negotiator with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC), in Beijing Thursday and is scheduled to meet with MOFTEC Minister Shi Guangsheng Friday.

Mexico is the only WTO member having not yet worked out a bilateral agreement with China on the country's accession to the WTO.

Experts analyzed that the deal was delayed because Mexico and China are competitors in more fields than the two economies can supplement each other in.

Liu Guangxi, deputy director of the Beijing-based WTO Research Institute and the WTO Shanghai Research Centre, said the two economies are similar in both production and export structures.

"Both economies are good at labour-intensive and low value-added products such as electronic household appliances and textiles,'' Liu said.

He said these industries are expected to be under the spotlight during the ongoing talks between China and Mexico.

The deputy director told China Daily that Mexico, the only developing country in the North America Free Trade Agreement, was also worried that China's WTO membership would entitle the country the same rights to the North American market as it has.

"This could sharpen China's competitive edge and deal a blow to Mexico's exports to the region,'' said Liu.

However some Chinese officials indicated that Mexico was expected to wrap up bilateral negotiations with China during these talks and sign the deal with China in August at the latest.

MOFTEC officials declined to comment, insisting that the outcome of bilateral talks with Mexico was not essential to China's WTO entry.

Long Yongtu said Mexico had promised its support and that when the agreement with Mexico is reached doesn't matter.

China has virtually completed bilateral and multilateral negotiations on joining the world trade body and is widely expected to become a member at the end of this year or early next year.

China has already signed bilateral agreements with 37 WTO members, except Mexico.

Concluding the 17th meeting of the WTO China working group, China declared that it had substantially completed multilateral negotiations and that all that was left was technical issues.

Liu Guangxi said the WTO China working group is expected to complete its work at the 18th meeting on September 10, wrapping up legal documents on China's WTO accession.

The group will file its documents at the biennial WTO ministerial meeting for passing.

But Liu said he hoped that the WTO General Council would decide on whether to accept China as a member or not before the ministerial meeting is convened in Doha of Qatar in November.

"This could happen at the end of September or early October if the WTO General Council gets to work on it quickly,'' said Liu.

The Doha meeting is expected to concentrate on starting a new round of WTO talks.

The legal documents, including the report by the WTO China working group and the multilateral agreements, still needs to be legalized by the 141 WTO members and China after being passed by the WTO ministerial meeting or the WTO General Council.

China would formally become a WTO member 30 days after the National People's Congress legalized the documents.

Liu said the chance that the meeting of the 141 WTO members would refuse to legalize these documents are slim.

"This could not happen except if the governments and congresses of the 141 WTO members fall into dispute and find that they cannot agree on their policies,'' said Liu.

(China Daily 07/27/2001)