Record on tariff cuts says more than taking a high-profile position at talks
Commerce Minister Bo Xilai has defended the mainland's virtual absence from public proceedings at last week's World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting, saying China is still a crucial player in the talks.
'We aren't like some other member countries who were always shouting. We prefer to solve our problems and respond practically without raising our voices,' Mr Bo said in a press conference in Hong Kong yesterday.
He said his delegation's diffidence throughout the week belied China's standing at the WTO.
'China attended all seven of the 'green room' meetings and was involved in all of the most important discussions,' he said.
Green room meetings are the intimate and often protracted negotiations held by 20 or 30 of the most important players in WTO discussions. The green room, named after the colour of the walls in the WTO director-general's office in Geneva, is the forum where actual decisions are hashed out before being presented to other economies for ratification.