Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Pascal
Lamy arrived in Beijing on Sunday as he tries to revive the stalled
Doha trade talks.
In an interview prior to his departure for Beijing, Lamy said he
would tell Chinese officials that developing countries should also
contribute to the trade talks so they can be concluded in the next
six to nine months.
"Obviously, all countries are preparing for a possible
compromise ... and I want to make sure that as we reach this crunch
time, China can preserve its defenses and offences in the
negotiations," Lamy said.
Next week, representatives of the United States, the European
Union, India and Brazil will meet in Germany to discuss possible
compromise solutions to the Doha talks.
During his four days in Beijing, Lamy will meet with officials
from the ministries of commerce, finance, agriculture, and the
central bank.
The Doha Round of trade talks was launched in 2001 with the goal
of boosting the global economy and helping poor countries through
fairer trade conditions. The talks have stalled mainly because of
sharp differences over agriculture subsidies and tariffs.
Lamy said the talks need to be finished by the end of the year
or early next year, and to do that WTO members must first reach an
interim agreement on cutting agriculture subsidies, agriculture
tariffs and industrial tariffs in the next few weeks.
China, which joined the WTO in 2001, has stressed that specific
concerns of new WTO members should be effectively addressed at the
trade talks.
(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2007)