This announcement was made by trade minister Shi Guangsheng at Tuesday’s national meeting on foreign trade.

Shi said while China is preparing for the final rounds of multilateral trade negotiation for its WTO accession, the country is stepping up efforts to abolish and revise old laws and regulations and enact new ones in order to meet new challenges. Any foreign trade laws or regulations that fail to conform to WTO’ s rules or China’s commitments will be abolished or revised, and new ones will be enacted when necessary, he added.

In line with its commitments, China will ensure conformity of foreign trade policies issued by the central government and local governments, Shi said. Meanwhile, laws and regulations that govern foreign trade will be published by the official press and easy access to enterprises and individuals will be ensured. Except for laws concerning national security, new trade laws and measures will be open for public comments before their final implementation, he said.

Shi said MOFTEC will set up a consultancy to give authoritative replies to questions raised by other WTO members on China’s foreign trade policy, and provide consulting services to enterprises at home and abroad.

Meanwhile, MOFTEC will set up an annual evaluation system, which will track changes in foreign trade policies of WTO members and prevent discriminatory actions against China.

According to Shi, WTO accession also demands China properly handles multilateral and bilateral relations in the organization, as WTO rules will govern bilateral trade relations between China and other WTO members.

Shi also stressed that China must promote WTO knowledge among the general public and train more foreign trade professionals. MOFTEC is compiling a series of books to keep the public informed of the organization and its rules, he said.

(People’s Daily 12/27/2000)