TOMORROW'S meeting in Beijing between China's chief trade negotiator Mr Tong Zhiguang and US trade representative Mr Douglas Newkirk is expected to have a positive effect on China's application to join the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
According to Mr Long Yongtu, director-general of the Department of International Trade and Economic Relations, part of China's Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade (MOFERT), China is concerned about securing permanent Most Favoured Nation trade status with the US, removing trade discrimination and protecting its insolvent industries, while the US wants to remove trade barriers preventing US goods entering the Chinese market.
''As Washington has pledged strong support for China's entry to GATT, it's illogical for the US not to grant permanent MFN status to China,'' Mr Long said.
China was a founding member of GATT in 1948 but withdrew in 1950 following the Communist takeover. In 1986, it applied to re-join as an ''old member'' because this would give it permanent MFN status under the terms agreed with the US in 1948.
However, the US wants China to join as a new member because the trading environment is very different and the conditions of admittance should be reviewed.
A Chinese source in Beijing said US negotiators had recently adopted a more cautious attitude on China's re-entry to GATT.