Premier on Preparations for WTO Accession (03/05/2001)

Premier Zhu Rongji stressed in Beijing Monday that China should lose no time to prime for the accession to the WTO and get everthing done properly during the transitional period.

In his report on the Outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2001-2005) to the Fourth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) that opened in Beijing Monday, Zhu called for more effective measures to change the ways of government administration, enhance the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises; bring the foreign trade system into line with international convention and make it conformable to the national conditions; step up the work of reviewing and revising relevant laws and regulations; and train people well versed in international trade rules.

Meanwhile, China should expand import and export trade, with emphasis on the export of high-quality goods and technology; optimize the mix of export commodities by expanding the share of high and new technology products and by raising the technological contents and added value in traditional commodities exported in large quantities; expand the scale of the service sector; standardize the regulation of processing industries and increase the value-added increment of such trade; vigorously promote diversification of export markets and open up new ones.

In import trade, China should focus on importing advanced technology, key equipment and important raw and processed materials that are urgently needed in the country, he said.

According to the outline, by 2005, China's imports and exports will top 680 billion, with the proportion of electronic and machinery products to increase to 50 percent of the total.

Zhu urged better utilization of foreign capital; open the service sector to foreign investment step by step; encourage foreign investors, especially multinational corporations, to invest in high-tech industries and infrastructure; and encourage them to set up research and development centers in China and to participate in the restructuring and renovation of state-owned enterprises.

The government will support eligible enterprises to get listed on overseas stock markets and further improve the investment climate, and explore new ways to utilize more foreign investment, such as acquisition, merger, risk investment, investment funds, and investment in securities.

The premier encouraged enterprises with comparative advantages to invest in processing trade abroad, to develop foreign resources in cooperation local partners, to contract for construction projects, and increase export of labor service. But the premier stressed oversight and management of such enterprises in order to prevent a drain on state property.