| Statement by Dr. Zhang Xiangchen, DPR of China at the 5th Trade Policy Review of Norway |
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| Wednesday,October 22,2008 Posted: 23:23 BJT(23 GMT) |
| From:wto Article type:Original |
22nd Oct. 2008
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On behalf of Amb. Sun Zhnenyu and the Chinese Delegation, let me welcome the Norwegian Delegation headed by Mr. Sorli and Her Excellency Amb. Johansen.
Mr. Chairman, Norway is an important trading partner of China in the Nordic region. Trade and economic relations between the two countries have kept a good momentum in recent years. Cooperation and communication in trade, investment and technology towards mutual benefits have been increasingly deepening. According to Chinese statistics, bilateral trade amounted to 3.2 billion US dollars during the first eight months in 2008, with an increase of 26% over the same period of last year. Norway mainly exports to China fertilizers, aquatic products and oil, while China’s main exports are textiles and clothing, light industry products, vessels and IT products. With strong complementarities to each other in trade structures, the two countries decided to start FTA negotiations and the first round of negotiations was held on 18 September 2008.
Turning to the area of investment, Mr. Chairman, until the end of August 2008, Norwegian enterprises have made investment in 301 projects in China with real investment at above 300 million US Dollars. The value of contract signed between Norway and China on transfer of technology has reached 730 million US Dollars, involving the areas of electronics, machinery, agriculture, environment protection and so on. Cooperation in shipbuilding, telecommunications and medicine is also getting closer. Since 1999, Norway has provided 150 million Krone of aid to China, to which we are very much grateful.
Mr. Chairman, China is very glad to note that Norway’s economy has performed strongly since its last review in 2004. GDP expanded at an average of 5.2%. The people of Norway have been enjoying one of the highest living standards in the world. Per capita income exceeded 82, 000 US Dollars in 2007. Inflation has been kept in check. Unemployment has been very low. Budget surpluses are large.
From the trade perspective, Norway is a strong supporter of the multilateral trading system and maintains an open trade regime, with 95% of non-agricultural products entering duty free. Norway did not apply any anti-dumping or countervailing measures during the review period. It also deserves to mention that Norway tries to achieve sustainable development by attaching great importance to the protection of environment. Special credits should be attributed to Norway for its attention to development issues. Specifically, Norway provides duty-free-quota-free market access to 64 low-income countries. It is also an active participant in WTO’s work on aid for trade.
What remains to be of concern is the continued high protection of agriculture. The manufacturing sector is relatively small. And the weight of oil and gas remains of great importance, although the services sector has already expanded to account for 66% of GDP.
Mr. Chairman, as we all see, Norway has been participating actively in the DDA negotiations. We commend the contributions made by Amb. Glenne and continue to accord our trust in Amb. Johansen and her able team. China is ready to cooperate with Norway and other Members towards concluding the Doha Round as soon as possible.
Finally, we would like to express our thanks to the secretariat for its excellent report and to Amb. Teehankee for his in-depth remarks. We wish the Trade Policy Review of Norway every success!
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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