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China hopes Doha Round will reach consensus by 2010

By Ding Qingfen (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-02 16:50

China will be consistently active in pushing forward the Doha Round talks and speaking out strongly against trade protectionism amid the financial crisis, said Minister of Commerce Chen Deming yesterday.

The minister made the statement during the seventh WTO Ministerial Conference held in Geneva. It is the first ministerial conference in four years, where trade ministers of its 153 members met to review the activities of the WTO and gather momentum for the Doha Round negotiations.

"The Doha Round is still in a deadlock, but we should value the efforts that all sides have made during the past few years, and try all best to bring the talks to an end in 2010," he said.

The Doha Round talks were suspended in July 2008 when the United States and India cannot reach consensus on specific agricultural issues. They restarted this September and the US trade representative Ron Kirk said recently it is possible to end the talks next year.

Since the financial crisis broke out, many nations and regions have carried out stimulus plans, but this has not led to rampant trade protectionism worldwide thanks to rules of WTO and the trade body's supervision, said Chen.

"Although developing nations have been more seriously hurt by the financial crisis, we should not take any kind of trade protectionist measure," he said.

China has been the major target of trade protectionism since late last year, launched by many nations, most significantly the United States and India.

Chen also urged the WTO to take reform through working out more disciplined and efficient rules and regulations, in a bid to help developing nations benefit more from trade globalization.