What are the prospects for Chinas entry into the WTO?
China should join the WTO before a new round starts. We have agreed at least informally from our meetings among trade ministers at Davos that WTO ministers should be presenting the text for Qatar by July. By that time, China should be a full member [in order] to look at the Qatar text. It’s going to be a big problem [if China is not admitted early enough]. We should have China in before April. Q: Will China’s entry result in a wave of Chinese exports? A: At the moment, most members of the WTO already have given China MFN [most-favored nation] treatment, so WTO entry doesn’t means goods will flood in. We are [already] seeing a lot of cheap [Chinese] farm products in Thailand. Chinese apples are cheaper than our own mangos. At the same time, [this trade] opens up avenues to export fruit from northern Thailand into China Q: How will China’s entry change the region? A: In terms of economic power in Asia, there will be a more balanced economic equation between Japan, China, and hopefully In
