Press/232
Geneva, 21 June 2001
Moore welcomes China-EU agreement on Chinese accession to WTO

World Trade Organization Director-General Mike Moore praised Chinese and EU negotiators for reaching agreement on unresolved bilateral issues concerning China's accession to the WTO.

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Mr. Moore congratulated Chinese Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and their respective negotiating teams for bringing China a significant step closer to membership in the WTO.

“The EU-China accord is another step towards China's membership in our organization. This together with the US-China agreement reached earlier in the month has given China's bid for membership new momentum. I remain hopeful that a decision can be taken on China's membership at our Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar this November,” Mr. Moore said.

The Director-General again urged all governments participating in the Working Party on China's accession to make every effort to resolve outstanding matters when the they meet in Geneva from 28 June to 4 July.

He said it was important that the key players work quickly to translate negotiating progress into multilaterally viable texts and other related data for the information and approval of WTO members. The meeting next week provides an opportunity for just such progress, he said.