He said that, from the perspective of specific negotiations, there was no timetable yet, only a plan. The first step is to complete the discussion of the two texts at the senior official level during this winter and next spring, strive to produce a new text and convene another small-scale ministerial meeting.
Chen Deming said that the WTO is currently considering launching formal negotiations at an appropriate time next year, but this requires two prerequisites: one is to take the agricultural and non-agricultural texts already finalized in December 2008 as the basis, improve them and produce a new text; the second is that some representative major members should negotiate first in the form of a small-scale ministerial meeting.
Chen Deming said that concluding the Doha Round negotiations by 2010 is a political signal issued by the G20 leaders, and this goal has been supported by the 153 members of the WTO, but it still needs to be achieved through specific negotiations.
In addition, Chen Deming pointed out that the Doha Round is a multilateral negotiation. China is willing to engage in bilateral communication and exchange, but this is not a restart of past negotiations, nor is it a replacement for multilateral negotiations.
Chen Deming emphasized that the achievements already made are hard-won and cannot be overturned for any reason. Therefore, China advocates locking in these achievements to advance the negotiations. Moreover, the Doha Round is a development round, which should pay more attention to the development of developing countries under the new trade rules, and not reduce concern for developing countries.
He said that China holds an open attitude towards starting formal negotiations when conditions are ripe, and hopes that all members of the WTO can look forward and show more flexibility, striving to conclude the negotiations next year, but this will be very difficult.
Before the meeting, some developing countries criticized the United States for focusing on domestic healthcare reform and other issues, along with domestic protectionist pressures, thus lacking enthusiasm and sincerity for the Doha Round.
On the first day of the conference, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma also advocated that the Doha Round must meet the requirements of a development round and achieve the purpose of helping developing countries develop. Developed countries should be moderate when demanding that developing countries open their non-agricultural product markets. However, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk emphasized that emerging economies should make greater commitments in opening up their markets, hinting that the negotiations could start over, and hoped to exert individual pressure through bilateral channels.
Due to unresolved differences in agriculture and non-agricultural market access, the Doha Round negotiations, which started in 2001, have remained deadlocked for eight years. Several previously set negotiation deadlines have already passed, casting doubt on whether the goal can be achieved by 2010.
Chen Deming said that according to the assessment of WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, about 80% of the negotiations in the Doha Round in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors have been completed, but what remains is the hardest part.
The seventh WTO ministerial conference entered its second day on November 1. Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming told Xinhua News Agency that although the international community hopes to complete the Doha Round negotiations by the end of 2010, achieving this goal on schedule will be very difficult.
Given the difficulty in breaking through the Doha Round, this WTO ministerial conference broke with tradition and was no longer a venue for trade negotiations, but this could not prevent the Doha Round from remaining the focus of various speeches. Judging from the situation of the meeting over these two days, the differences between developed members and developing members remain serious.
It should pay more attention to the development of developing countries under the new trade rules.
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