CHINA, striving to improve its trading rules to bolster its bid to rejoin the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), has finished drafting its first foreign trade law, according to a senior official.
Ms Wu Yi, newly appointed Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, said the draft law would soon be submitted to the standing committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation after being approved by the Chinese State Council.
The New China News Agency quoted Ms Wu as saying that the new law had been drafted in a bid to develop trade based on international norms.
Earlier this year, China formulated the Provisional Rules on Administration of Export Commodities in accordance with international trade practices to bring about fundamental changes in the export trading system.
At the same time, the country accelerated its import system by abolishing import regulatory tax and reducing importing duties first on 225 products and then on 3,371 products as a major step to open up its domestic market.
China is anxious to rejoin GATT to protect is booming trade, which now accounts for about 40 per cent of gross national product.