Premier Zhu Rongji Met with World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi (05/09/2002)

On September 4, 2002, Premier Zhu Rongji met with World Trade Organization (WTO) director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi at the hotel he stays.

Zhu congratulated Supachai on his assumption of office as director-general of the WTO. He said that Supachai is the first official from a developing country to head WTO and comes from Asia, which is a source of pride for the Asian people. He also said that China will endeavor to back the work of Supachai as a new round of multilateral trade negotiations has just initiated and Supachai are faced up with arduous tasks.  

Zhu said that China has become a full member of the WTO late last year. In a bid to honor its WTO obligations and commitments, China has finished sorting out relevant laws and regulations, trying to make them tally with the WTO rules. China has also reduced its tariff level by three percentage points. Zhu said that China's admission to the WTO presents both opportunities and challenges, adding that China will surmount all difficulties and fulfill its obligations in line with its position. Zhu stressed that the Chinese people mean what they say.

For his part, Supachai thanked Zhu for the meeting. He admitted that the new round of trade talks has made little headway as it has just been launched. He said that the Doha agenda could become a development agenda worth of the name only if the countries concerned realize their commitment to development goals. Supachai said China accessed to the WTO at a very important moment, which is significant to the possible progress of new round of trade talks, adding that he hopes China will continue to play its positive role.  Supachai also appreciated China's implementation of the WTO obligations nearly a year after its entry into WTO.