[PEN-L:8331] China Prepared to Wait re WTO

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

The Chinese language press reports that President Jiang Zemin of China
said that China is prepared to wait another 13 years before joining the
WTO, if its means that would get fair terms for China.

Henry C.K. Liu

                      Friday, Jun 25 at Prague 04:16 pm, N.Y. 10:16 am

                     US Urges China To Restart WTO Talks

                      WASHINGTON, Jun 25, 1999 -- (Agence
                      France Presse) The White House on
                      Thursday urged China to resume bilateral
                      talks on its accession to the WTO, frozen
                      after NATO's May 7 bombing of the
                      Chinese embassy in Belgrade.

                      "We do think it's in China's interest and the
                      world trading community's interest," White
                      House spokesman Joe Lockhart said.

                      China froze most bilateral cooperation after
                      the NATO attack, which Washington and
                      its allies have called a tragic accident.
                      Efforts to agree on terms for China's
                      membership in the World Trade
                      Organization have also stalled.

                      Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering
                      led a mission to Beijing last week charged
                      with presenting a report on how the
                      bombing occurred, but Chinese officials
                      found it unconvincing.

                      "It's our hope that with some time to
                      review this report, absorb this report,
                      recover from the obvious damage that this
                      accident caused that we'll be able to move forward
on that and many other fronts," Lockhart said. ((c) 1999 Agence France
Presse)