The executive arm of the European Union (EU) said in a statement that its trade commissioner Pascal Lamy welcomed the decision, made earlier in the day.

He said that the terms "represent a balanced and ambitious package of market opening commitments," which will bring substantial benefits to China and its WTO trading partners.

In view of the importance of China's entry into the world trading system, it has been agreed that the final approval of the EU governments in this regard should be enshrined in a formal decision, by unanimity following the consultation of the European Parliament, said the commission.

"Securing China's entry into the WTO has been a key trade policy goal of the commission and member states for many years,'' the commission said. "This agreement to open and modernize China's market will create major new opportunities for EU firms to export to, and do business in, the world's most populous country."

For China, the EU executive said, the WTO entry will be "the crowning achievement of over two decades of carefully managed reform and opening to the outside world.

"It will mark the beginning of a new era, in which China's commitment to the international economic system will no longer be experimental, but enshrined in law."

(China Daily September 21, 2001)