US businesses have benefited from China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), says a report released by the US-China Business Council.

"The accession agreement has introduced significant market openings in China and, as a result, US companies enjoy far greater market access than they did five years ago," according to the report, which is an assessment of China's fourth year of WTO membership.

China has cut import tariffs by nearly 40 per cent, virtually eliminated import licenses and quotas and relaxed ownership restrictions on American businesses operating in China.

It has also allowed American companies to participate in many sectors in which they were previously prohibited, the report says.

Statistics from the US-China Business Council indicate that US exports increased by 81 per cent in the three full years since China entered the WTO on December 11, 2001, compared with 34 per cent growth in the three years prior to the accession.

Over the last five years, US exports to China have more than doubled, and grown five times faster than exports to Belgium, the second-fastest-growing export market of the United States, the statistics show.

The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong passed Japan to become the third-largest export market of the United States, following Canada and Mexico.

In the first half of this year, China's overall imports have slowed down. US exports to China have increased by only 10 per cent compared with the same period last year.

China has generally continued to make progress in its WTO implementation efforts this year, the report says.

In a survey of the council's member companies conducted this year, 75 per cent of respondents indicated that they viewed China's WTO entry as important to their companies' operations and objectives, and cited tariff reductions as the most significant commitment China has made to date.

China has also made notable strides in strengthening its economy and improving its legal environment, both of which give council members hope that China's market will continue to move towards the certainty and predictability that they expect from healthy and competitive economies, the report says.

But the report also says that the service sector, where US companies have strong competitive advantages, has not significantly opened.

(China Daily September 16, 2005)