INDIA, CHINA RE-EMPHASISE SOLIDARITY
ON WTO ISSUES AT CANCUN
India and China
have re-emphasised their solidarity on WTO issues at the Cancun
Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which
commenced today. At a meeting with Mr. Arun Jaitley, Minister
of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice, the Chinese
Minister of Commerce, Mr. Lu Fuyuan, said that both China and
India belonged to the developing country group and as such shared
many common interests and common positions. "China and India
are close neighbours especially after the visit of the Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee when bilateral relations have entered a new
phase. In the areas where we have a common consensus, we should
offer support to each other", the Chinese Minister said adding
that both should exchange views on a frequent basis in the next
few days at Cancun.
India and China
are already part of the 21 member coalition on agriculture in
the WTO which is pressing for elimination of trade distorting
subsidies and a more equitable world agricultural trade. They
are also together in the group of 15 countries on Singapore issues.
Agreeing with
the Chinese Minister, Mr. Jaitley underlined that coalition building
had ushered in a new area of cooperation between India and China
and observed that together both could shape the WTO negotiations
and leave an impact on the functioning of the WTO system. Both
the Ministers highlighted that the initiatives taken by the countries
like China, India, Brazil and South Africa had put the focus squarely
on the issue of trade distorting agriculture subsidies given by
the developed countries and their determination to hold together,
so that their aspirations could find reflection in the Cancun
Ministerial Declaration.
The Chinese
Minister made the point as a newly acceded member of the WTO,
China had already undertaken heavy commitments by way of tariff
cuts and it would be improper to expect newly acceded members
to take on further commitments without giving them the benefit
of special & differential treatment provisions as had been
made clear in the joint proposal on agriculture by the group of
21 countries.
