[PEN-L:7687] China Delays WTO Talks

["Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Zhu: Time Not Ripe For Resumption Of Sino-US Talks On WTO

                      HONG KONG, Jun 4, 1999 -- (Agence France
                      Presse) Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said Friday
                      that the time was not ripe for a resumption of
                      Sino-US talks on Beijing's long-standing bid to
                      enter the World Trade Organization (WTO),
                      local television said.

                      Zhu was quoted as saying the message had
                      been delivered to US President Bill Clinton
                      during a recent telephone conversation with
                      Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

                      The premier said at a meeting with Hong Kong
                      Financial Secretary Donald Tsang that the
                      present atmosphere "was not appropriate" to
                      resume WTO-related talks with the United
                      States.

                      Zhu also said the dialogue could not continue if
                      human rights were being linked to China's
                      accession to the world trade watchdog.

                      Sino-US relations have been strained since the
                      bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade
                      by NATO forces last month.

                      US and Chinese negotiators have not discussed
                      China's WTO accession bid since the incident
                      on May 7 which killed three Chinese journalists.

                      The Cox report charging China with having
                      stolen US nuclear weapons secrets has also set
                      back Sino-US relations and is seen to have
                      complicated the WTO talks.

                      Even before the bombing, the United States and
                      China were having trouble hammering out an
                      accord under which Washington would back
                      Beijing's entry into the Geneva-based trade
                      body.

                      The United States is pressing China for
                      sweeping market-opening commitments before it
                      extends its backing.

                      Hong Kong's financial secretary told reporters
                      the premier had told him how the Chinese
                      economy was likely to fare this year.

                      Tsang said Zhu had repeated assurances that
                      the Chinese yuan would not be devalued.

                      The Bank of China's move to stop overseas
                      yuan remittances to domestic branches on
                      Thursday sparked renewed worries of a yuan
                      devaluation in regional financial markets. ((c)
                      1999 Agence France Presse)