A SENIOR Chinese official has vowed the country will continue its open door policy, even if its 81/2-year bid to re-enter GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) failed. Wu Yi, minister of foreign trade and economic co-operation, said yesterday China was not prepared to follow a policy of negotiating re-entry to GATT at any cost. Her re-assurance about China's commitment to open its doors came after threats by Deputy Vice-Minister Long Yongtu to close China's market and ignore the ground-breaking Uruguay Round of talks. Speaking after a meeting with an international business delegation from Hong Kong, Ms Wu said China was not ready to give up its fundamental interests in exchange for re-entry into GATT and being a founding member of GATT's successor body, the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Ms Wu made the comments as the deadline for the GATT negotiations drew near. Failure to re-enter GATT would mean China would not be allowed in as a founding member of WTO in January. But GATT talks are continuing and Ms Wu's deputy, Gu Yongjiang, will go to Geneva to take charge of the crucial round of talks, on Tuesday. Yesterday, Ms Wu refused to say whether hopes of the re-entry bid were getting slim. Noting the economic success of China, Ms Wu said the WTO would be 'incomplete' without its presence. Ms Wu would not comment on whether China is to accept the proposal by the European Union for it to become a founding member of WTO if the re-entry bid can be completed by July, 1995. Leader of the Hong Kong delegation, Paul Cheng Ming-fun, quoted Ms Wu as saying that China did not insist on the actual signing of the GATT agreement by the end of the month. The most important thing was to have the agreement struck by the end of December, Mr Cheng said. During the meeting, Ms Wu also told delegates that China would always be committed to maintaining the status of Hong Kong in three respects. Namely, Hong Kong would maintain its status as a free port, as an international financial, trading, communication, transport and information centre and as a free and international environment. On the basis that these three things would be unchanged, overseas businesses were guaranteed better development for their investments in Hong Kong, she said.
