| Statement by H.E. Ambassador SUN Zhenyu at the General Council Meeting |
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| Thursday,May 08,2008 Posted: 21:54 BJT(54 GMT) |
| From:Wto mission Article type:Original |
Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
First of all, I would like to join the previous speakers in expressing our thanks to Director General for his report. We share his view on the situation of the negotiations and concur with the sense of urgency that many delegations have expressed, particularly given the uncertainty in global financial and food markets and the increasing challenges facing the global economy.
Mr. Chairman, negotiations during the previous months have made some progress but still far from satisfactory. It would be difficult for us to succeed in the negotiating process if Members fail to bridge the gaps in the key areas of agriculture and NAMA. In this regard, we look forward to the revised texts from Chairmen of Agriculture and NAMA as soon as possible. These texts should be complete and reflect positions of the broad Members in a balanced way so as to facilitate the intensive negotiations in the coming weeks. The major developed Members should show their political will, provide leadership and put substantially improved offer on the table of the negotiations.
Mr. Chairman, this is a development round and development dimension is the core element in the negotiations. The outcome of the Doha Round negotiations must be conducive to the more effective participation of all developing countries in the global economy and their sustainable development. To fulfill the mission of this Round, developed countries should be willing to consider sufficient policy flexibilities for developing countries. Development issues such as SPs, SSM, cotton, specific concerns of LDCs, Small & Vulnerable Economies and Recently-acceded Members must be dealt with earnestly, comprehensively and effectively.
On the issue of Rules, we share the statements by ASEAN Economic Ministers and many other Members that it is important for the chair to provide a new text that reflects the reality of the negotiation and adhere to the DDA mandate.
On the issue of CBD, China supports the statements by Brazil, India and African Group, and would like to emphasize that the Disclosure Proposal has gathered the clearest and the broadest co-sponsorships of a vast majority of WTO Members, and also an even wider range of supportive from others. We believe that, among the outstanding implementation issues, this issue of the relationship between the CBD and the TRIPS Agreement has matured both politically and technically. In this regard, China, together with many other developing countries, would strongly urge to start immediately text-based negotiations, and the outcome should be an integral part of the final single undertaking of the DDA.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would like to reiterate that China will, as always, work constructively together with all other Members to ensure a successful and balanced conclusion of the Doha Round negotiations.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
(May 7, 2008) |
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