Beijing: Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said yesterday that the Doha Round of trade talks should be further promoted in formulating new rules on world trade.
Chen said the Doha Development Agenda under the framework of the World Trade Organisations (WTO) should remain the main channel for multilateral trade talks despite the difficulties it had gone through.
“The Doha talks should be promoted with our full strength in formulating new rules on world trade,” Chen told a press conference on the sidelines of China’s annual legislative session.
He noted that the Doha talks have been dealing with a difficult situation over the last decade. “The talks are in a very dangerous situation over the past five years when the world was grappling with the financial crisis. They are in need of rescue,” Chen said.
Chen said he hopes the initial goals discussed at the Doha talks, trade facilitation in particular, can be achieved during the ninth WTO ministerial conference scheduled for the end of the year.
The United States has been promoting bilateral trade talks, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Chinese Minister of Commerce noted, China is also involved in talks with other Asian countries on possible free trade areas, such as the talks with Japan and the Republic of Korea.
QNA
