Interviewed by reporters at the Capital Airport on January 26 before leaving for Geneva, Sun Zhenyu, the first Chinese permanent representative, and ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the WTO, appointed by Chinese President Jiang Zemin, indicated: China is going to attend a new round of multilateral negotiation with an active attitude.
Sun solemnly pledged, "I am very thankful for the trust the nation and the people have in me. Minister Shi Guangsheng personally saw our delegation off today and I realize the heavy responsibility placed on me. We'll go all out to successfully carry out the tasks assigned to us by the State".
When asked about what preparatory work China has done for the new round of multilateral negotiation, Sun said they would at least assiduously study documents and rules related to the Uruguay Round, fully understand all commitments China made in the process of negotiation for its WTO membership and all rights it will enjoy, which are fundamentals. Then, they would carry out extensive contacts with various countries. He said different countries have different stand, the matter here is, indeed, very complicated. The tradition, historical background, culture, concept of value and economic development level are different, involved here is a process of mutual exchange and mutual understanding and the final achievement of consensus.
In the past China took part in the Uruguay Round negotiation in the capacity as an observer, after its WTO accession, it will participate in a new round of negotiation in the capacity as a full member, then will it play a constructive role in this regard?
When touching upon this question, the ambassador, who once attended and chaired many kinds of negotiations such as Sino-US textile and Sino-US intellectual property right negotiation, said with full confidence: "China would actively take part in the new round of multilateral trade talks, it will coordinate stands with other countries because the question of multilateral negotiation is very complicated. China hopes that a new, relatively balanced rule can be reached through extensive consultations and connection with various parties, and that on this basis, the multilateral trade talks can be bettered, and the majority of WTO members can be benefited therefore. The basic aim of the WTO is to ensure that the economies of most member countries will develop and their people's living standards will improve. At the same time, the international trading environment will experience great improvement.
(People's Daily January 29, 2002)
