China commits to new bid to join global trade pact
Print Edition
China agreed to make a revised offer to join a global agreement aimed at creating a level playing field for foreign companies competing for government contracts, as Chinese and American envoys ended a meeting of the annual China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade yesterday.
Lack of access has been a sticking point with trade partners since China joined the World Trade Organization 12 years ago.
If China were to join the Agreement on Government Procurement, it would potentially open US$100 billion of government contracts to foreign competition every year and offer opportunities ranging from building highways to running data networks.
Chinese Deputy Commerce Minister Wang Chao said China has committed to submitting a new proposal next year to join the GPA, which extends the World Trade Organization’s free-trade principles to purchases by governments.
Government agencies, hospitals and other official entities in China are major purchasers of software and other goods. Business groups say extending the GPA to China could create multibillion-dollar new opportunities for foreign suppliers.
China promised to join the GPA when it became a WTO member in 2001. But the United States and other governments complained its proposed terms were unrealistic. They would have kept large areas of government purchasing off-limits on security grounds and allowed Beijing to wait up to 18 years before implementing all of its promises.
Wang said China’s offer would be in line with proposals by other countries.
Michael Froman, the US trade representative, said China had “agreed to submit a revised offer in 2014 that would be commensurate on the whole with those other GPA members.”
“We are looking forward to seeing the offer and seeing whether it’s a system that would consider accession to the GPA,” Froman said at a news conference in Beijing.
Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said China’s bid for the GPA “should be based on mutual respect and equality.”
The two-day discussions were the first high-level trade talks between the United States and China since Xi Jinping became China’s president in March.
Bringing the world’s second largest economy into the GPA would be a huge boost to the agreement. So far only 42 of the WTO’s 157 members have joined.
China also promised yesterday to ease restrictions on imports of US beef. Wang told reporters the two sides agreed to “promote US beef exports to China” but gave no details.
Deputy Agriculture Ministry Niu Dun said the two sides will work on technical issues but gave no timetable for when full-scale imports might be allowed.
China banned US beef in 2003 due to fears of mad cow disease. It has promised in recent years to ease those restrictions but effectively maintained its ban.
The two governments also pledged to strengthen cooperation in criminal enforcement of trade secrets and in combatting violations of patents, copyrights and other intellectual property.
Froman, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack represented the US side in the talks with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and other officials.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
