Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Li Yong called on the developed countries on Sunday to step forward and lead the way in further opening market, lowering tariff, particularly reducing and removing the agricultural export subsidies to promote progress in the world trade negotiations.

In a statement to the meeting of the Joint Development Committee of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Li Yong said that the Doha round is a development round and to what extent the development issues will have been addressed remains the key criterion for the success of the Doha Round.

As the first round of multilateral trade negotiations after the establishment of the WTO, the Doha round trade negotiations aim at further liberalizing the world trade market, he said. "However, since its launch in 2001, the Doha round has been proceeding with tremendous difficulties and frustrations."

Li said that the Doha process should give adequate consideration of the development levels and affordability of the developing members, and effectively implement the special and differentiated treatment of developing members, enabling their adequate participation in the multilateral trading system and reaping real benefits.

"The developing members should be treated as a whole, and we are against the classification of the developing members. As a new member, China has always been positively participating in the Doha Round negotiations, and playing a constructive role," he said.

As the developed members, the United States, the EU and other developed countries shoulder special responsibilities and obligations in promoting progress in the world trade negotiations, Li said.

The Chinese official also called for a long term global clean energy regulatory system based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities so as to secure affordable and reliable world energy supply over the long run.

Source: Xinhua