Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Mike Moore reaffirmed his position on Wednesday that China will become a WTO member this year.

"My position has been consistent over years. I say it again China will be in this year," he told Xinhua here. "Talks on China' s WTO accession is coming to an end. This is no executive order I can sign here. Capitals need to show flexibility here. I believe it's possible."

Moore stressed that China, although not yet a member, has made enormous contributions to the whole world by moving to a rules- based trade system.

On other issues, the WTO chief expressed the hope that the fourth WTO ministerial conference to be held in November in the Qatari capital of Doha would launch a new round of global trade talks.

He said the economic slowdown in the United States and stagnancy in Japan were making the launch of a new round more necessary than a year ago. Further liberalization of trade is particularly important at a time when protectionism is arising, he said.

Moore believed that most people would benefit from further trade liberalization following the new round. He cited statistics by organizations including the World Bank as saying that tariff and non-tariff barriers imposed by developed countries to imports from developing countries are still high. Three quarters of benefits from further liberalization of manufactured products would go to developing countries.

What is more, he said, agriculture subsidies by rich countries put together are more than the total GNP of the whole African continent. If the subsidies were removed, poor countries would have benefited three times more than now.

The 140 WTO members have begun to prepare the documents to be submitted to the ministerial conference.

(Xinhua 03/15/2001)