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To: Morgan Drake who wrote (33879)	7/2/1999 12:50:00 AM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

A Little Help From Our Friends.> Thursday July 1, 11:58 pm Eastern Time Japan seeks China WTO deal ahead of PM's visit By Teruaki Ueno TOKYO, July 2 (Reuters) - Japan is keen to strike a deal with China on Beijing's bid to join the World Trade Organisation before Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi visits China next week, but there are doubts whether a pact can be sealed in time. Japanese government officials said this week an agreement may not be reached in time for Obuchi's three-day visit from July 8, since the two countries are still far apart on Tokyo's demand for China to further open its service sector to foreign competition. Japan wants China to grant foreign firms access to its service sectors, such as distribution, construction, telecoms and financial services, in exchange for formalising its oft-pledged support for Beijing's bid to join the WTO. ''We are hoping to reach an accord by the time the prime minister visits China. But wide gaps remain in some areas,'' a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. ''We have been holding bilateral negotiations at various levels intermittently,'' he added. ''China is a tough negotiator and we do not want a settlement with which we are not fully happy.'' The official said China is being particularly tough on foreign access to its telecoms and construction markets. Under WTO accession rules, any WTO member can request two-way talks with a proposed member and thus effectively block its entry until bilateral trade differences are resolved. Officials said fraying of Sino-U.S. ties following NATO's bombing in May of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was affecting the bilateral talks between Tokyo and Beijing. ''China hardened its stance, apparently because of the strained relations between China and the United States,'' one Japanese official said. Washington, meanwhile, is watching over Tokyo's shoulder to make sure it does not cut a deal just for the sake of making Obuchi's trip a success. ''We are doing our best to conclude the negotiations by the time the prime minister goes,'' one government source said. ''That would be a big souvenir. But the result must be credible to everyone, including the United States.'' Beijing, though, may not be able to drag its feet too long because its Taiwan is stepping up its own efforts to become a full WTO member, the first official said. Failure by China to join the WTO before a new round of global trade talks is launched in November could delay its entry by several years. Beijing came close to sealing the crucial part of its bid to enter the organisation in April, when Premier Zhu Rongji made significant concessions to U.S. trade negotiators during a visit to Washington. Zhu was later accused by powerful domestic forces of selling out state enterprises and poor farmers in his eagerness to join the WTO, and China froze its WTO talks with Washington after NATO's bombing of its embassy in Belgrade on May 7, which killed three Chinese reporters. Both the United States and China said earlier this week the ball was in the other's court.

To: Morgan Drake who wrote (33879)	7/2/1999 7:16:00 AM
From: JohnG	Respond to of 152472

Economist Board? During the Regan Administration, the president came to believe the country's problems could be solved if he could just find a good one armed economist. The president explained that when he asked for counsel, his economic advisors would give it to him but then they would always say, "On the other hand" it might be better to take an alternate course of action. It is believed that their condition arose from having been given too many multiple choice exams in college. JohnG