EU Negotiator Returns for "last-round" WTO Talks

European Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy arrived in Beijing yesterday morning to begin a fourth round of bilateral negotiations with the Chinese Government on China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Lamy said in a statement released by the Delegation of the European Commission in China that he hoped the talks will be the last round of WTO negotiations between the EI and China.

During Danish Prime Minister Poul Rasmussen's visit to Beijing last week, Premier Zhu Rongji said that China hopes to conclude bilateral talks and related procedures with the EU as soon sa possible.

On the prospects for this critical round of talks, Lany said: "I'm never either optimistic or pessimistic." "We all have to show flexibility if we are to get somewhere," Lamy told reporters as he arrived at the Beijing Capital International Airport.

Lamy noted that considerable consultations have been held within the EU since the last round of talks and that China also had time to discuss issues.

"Our position and theirs have been refined with time," Lamy said.

The remaining sticking pints in the negotiations concern mainly the telecommunications, financial services and automobile sectors.

The EU had said that the China-US agreement on China's WTO entry covers 80 per cent of Europe's trade concerns, but it wants to further press China for concessions in telecommunications, textiles and tariffs.

Lamy said last week that the EU insisted on China allowing foreign companies 50 per cent stakes in mobile phone ventures, a demand China had refused in negotiations with the United States. The EU is China's biggest trade partner that has yet to conclude bilateral talks on WTO entry.