These announcements were made by the chief executive officers (CEOs) of these two transnational corporations Thursday during a meeting with Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdi.

China's upcoming accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has given new impetus to the city's development into an international center for commerce, finance, trade and shipping, Xu told the guests at the meeting. In the meantime, China's upcoming accession to the WTO has provided overseas investors with new business opportunities, he added.

Oracle's president and CEO Larry Ellison briefed Xu on a project between his company and Shanghai Customs, which aims to accelerate customs clearance through e-commerce. With the development of e-commerce, China's economy will see faster growth in the economic globalization, said Ellison.

Since Oracle Corp. came into the Chinese market 11 years ago, it has set up representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu to provide technical services and help local enterprises launch e-commerce.

Glen H. Hiner, president and CEO of Owens-Corning, told Xu that Chinese consumers have demonstrated a growing interest in energy-saving and environment-friendly building materials. It is therefore necessary to take the opportunity offered by China's WTO accession to transfer more advanced technologies and launch mass production of new building materials here in China, he said.

(People's Daily 03/23/2001)