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Symbolic ties bind two men of the moment

Mark O'Neill

The two most senior Chinese officials at the historic ceremony that brought China into the WTO wore gold and red ties.

'One is the red of China and the Communist Party, the other is the wealth that membership will bring,' whispered a delegate watching the two men who sat in the front row of the packed hall in the Sheraton Hotel.

The star of the show was the man with the gold tie - Shi Guangsheng, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation and head of China's delegation to the WTO conference.

A short, bald man, he sat in his chair with a content expression as 15 cameramen jostled to take his picture before they were ushered out by towering Qatari security men in flowing white robes and black head bands.

The red tie belonged to Vice-Minister Long Yongtu, the chief negotiator since 1992.

They listened to a short speech by the Qatari Minister of Finance, Economy and Commerce, Youssef Kamal, accepting the report of the working group on China's membership and asking for the views of the members. After a brief silence, there was an outburst of thunderous applause and the minister brought down his gavel, signifying the WTO members had accepted China. The audience applauded again and stood up to show their approval.

Mr Shi walked proudly to the podium and addressed the audience in Chinese, English and French.

He thanked those countries that had supported China's application and said that this had been a strategic decision of his country's leaders. He said the admission for which they had worked so hard would help deepen China's reform and open-door policy.

Considering the historic significance and poignancy of the moment, his speech was the work of a cautious bureaucrat and a lost opportunity.

He then walked along the podium, shaking the hands of everyone and embracing WTO director-general Michael Moore.

Youssef Kamal then gave the floor to the delegates who wanted to welcome China, starting with Robert Zoellick of the United States and Pascal Lamy of the European Union.

Among the audience were the three delegates of El Salvador, which informed the WTO this week it would not extend to China the most favoured nation treatment WTO countries should give to fellow members.

Was this a political decision, on behalf of Taiwan, which has diplomatic relations with El Salvador, a way to register a small protest?

'No, no, it was simply a commercial matter,' said one of the three. 'It has nothing to do with politics. We export nothing to China and import some goods from it. We want to protect our industries.'

Every seat in the hall, part of the conference centre where the meeting is being held, was taken by delegates, reporters and security men, eager not to miss an historic moment. The bitter arguments over launching a new trade round were set aside for two hours to welcome a new member to the club.

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