BEIJING - China is moving at a "very, very impressive pace" in terms of free trade, removing trade barriers and making higher standards to maintain a sound market environment after entering the WTO a decade ago, said Dow Chemical Co, the largest US chemical maker.

Peter Sykes, president of Dow Greater China, said at a press conference here on Wednesday that the progress China achieved after its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been "very substantial and remarkable.

"Over the 10 years, what I frequently see is that Western media expressed criticism or frustration about China not moving fast enough in terms of free trade or removing trade barriers, but I think those people are being unrealistic," Sykes said.

It took other major economies in the world many decades to get to the point they are at now. Compared with that, China is moving at a very, very impressive pace, according to Sykes.

Sykes said that China had implemented higher standards around environmental protection, safe manufacturing practices, or reducing emissions from production facilities.

"China is moving very rapidly in implementing more and more standards and requirements in many areas of business, and I believe those standards will become competitive advantages for companies like Dow," he added.

The advantages have already demonstrated themselves through Dow's business performances in China.

In 2001, Dow's sales revenue in Greater China stood at around 1 billion U.S. dollars, according to data from the company.

The figure was $3.7 billion in 2010, representing a compound annual growth rate of about 16 percent over the 10 years, much higher than the growth of the galloping Chinese economy during the same period.

Last year, China's gross domestic product surpassed Japan's for the first time and become the world's second-largest economy after the United States.

Almost at the same time, China became the second-largest market for Dow Chemical, trailing only the United States.

"The growth of the chemical industry is a perfect reflection of the strength of an economy," Sykes said of the situation.

The strong momentum of China's economy has served as a great driving force for the development of multinationals such as Dow, providing them with unprecedented market opportunities and broad market prospects.

"The overall trend is becoming more and more positive for Dow," Sykes said, adding that the company will build on what it has achieved so far and continue to target further development in China.

Dow has set sights high for the 2011-2015 period, aiming at doubling its 2010 sales revenue in Greater China to somewhere between $7 billion and $8 billion.

This year, the company has hit new sales records for three consecutive quarters. In the July-September period alone, its revenue jumped over 20 percent compared with the same period of last year.

China officially entered the WTO on December 11, 2001, after years of negotiations, becoming the 143rd member of the global institution.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a speech made at Sichuan University in October that China has delivered an "A-plus performance" since it entered the WTO.

"China's entry into the trade bloc has benefited not only China, but also the entire world. The result is a win-win situation where China has received a lot from international trade and other WTO members have also got a lot from the opening-up of China," Lamy said.