"....From the jus' so's ya know Department....":
ABCNEWS: BEIJING (AP)
American and Chinese negotiators met for a sixth day of talks Monday, trying to clinch a deal that would help clear the way for Beijing's entry into the World Trade Organization. There was no word of progress from either side.
Amid Chinese admonishments that they were bargaining too hard, U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky went three times to China's foreign trade ministry for meetings, including at least one with foreign trade minister Shi Guangsheng, U.S. Embassy spokesmen said.
The U.S. team is pushing China to open its relatively closed but enticing markets to American products and services. An agreement would remove a major hurdle in China's 13-year bid to join the world trade's rule-making body.
To become a member of the Geneva-based WTO, China needs agreements with key trading partners, particularly the United States and the European Union.
As part of a deal, the United States wants China to open its telecommunications and financial services sectors. Washington also is demanding that China submit to quotas on textile shipments and anti-dumping measures to prevent surges in low-cost exports.
Speaking to reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One, President Clinton said of the talks: "it is impossible to predict the outcome. They're still there and they're still talking."
Some Chinese officials complain that the United States is making too many demands. Lu Ruihua, governor of the economically powerful southern province of Guangdong, said the sooner China joins the WTO, the better _ but only if the terms are right.
"If the conditions required of China are fair, it would be good for Guangdong. If it's not, I would rather be admitted into WTO later," Lu said in an interview with foreign reporters. "At the moment, the crucial issue is the attitude of the United States, not ours. They have too big a list of requests."
The official China Daily newspaper also quoted analysts as saying the United States "was setting too high a price."
Time is pressing because at month's end the 135-member WTO will discuss launching new global trade liberalization talks. If those talks are successful, trade ministers could be too busy negotiating to take up Beijing's entry for several years, and China would have no say over the new rules.
The U.S. team delayed plans to leave Sunday as the negotiations, which started Wednesday, wore on. Neither side gave details about the talks.
"There's nothing to report. We're still talking," Tom Tripp, Barshefsky's spokesman, said at the start of the day.
WTO membership will bring benefits and drawbacks to China. Opening the door to greater foreign competition would force inefficient Chinese industries to adopt reforms that the government has been pushing for.
U.S. and other non-Chinese firms would be able to sell products and services directly to Chinese consumers, giving them greater choice at cheaper prices.
But unemployment, already running at about 8 percent in cities, will swell short-term as state factories and small family farms fail. |
