2002年9月WTO对澳大利亚贸易政策审议-中国政府的问题和评论(英文)
WTO Trade Policy Review of Australia
Comments and Questions from China
H.E. Mr. David Herbert SPENCER
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of Australia
to the World Trade Organization
Geneva, 23 September 2002
Dear Ambassador,
I have the honor to refer to the trade policy review of Australia which is going on now in the World Trade Organization. With instructions from Beijing, I am writing this letter to bring to your attention several important issues in our bilateral economic and trade relations to which my government attaches concerns, although these issues are not submitted in written form to the WTO Secretariat within the framework of the trade policy review mechanism.
The first issue is the SPS and TBT measures. China understands and respects Australia’s right to take necessary measures to achieve legitimate SPS and TBT objectives. However, I would like to draw your attention to some of the problems in these fields which we believe have a negative impact on our bilateral trade development. These problems are, among others, the pending Pest Risk Analysis test of China’s apple and peach originating from Shandong and Shaanxi provinces and China’s request for lifting of the ban on Ya pear to be expanded to cover all kinds pears. On the TBT front, my government is looking forward to working out a mutual recognition agreement for machinery and electronic products with Australia with a view to facilitating our bilateral trade in this field. Apart from that, some SPS and TBT requirements in Australia, in our view, are unnecessarily burdensome and go beyond the requirement in the WTO TBT and SPS Agreements. An example of that would be the labeling requirement to indicate the Latin name in addition to the English one for mushroom and fish imports from China. We would therefore like to have Australia’s clarifications on these matters and request that positive steps be taken accordingly to eliminate their negative effects on trade.
The second issue is regarding the granting of businesses visas for corporate employees from China. Chinese companies have complained that they have to meet a series of rigid requirements to obtain long term business visas for their employees. A single non-appliance to any of those requirements will result in the denial of visa application. This rigorous visa regime has not only caused damage to the Chinese companies having or seeking presence in Australia but also hindered the investment inflow from China. My government therefore would like to request that efforts be made by the Australian side to further clarify these requirements and provide facilitation in the process.
Thirdly, I am also instructed to raise concerns over the market access conditions in Australia in trade in services, including telecom, financial service, air and marine transportation etc. Foreign equity interests in these areas are subject to an upper limit, usually less than 50%, and qualification examination from administrative agencies of foreign participants is also required. China believes that the market access threshold to those sectors can be further lowered to promote the free trade in the service area, particularly in view of Australia’s competitiveness in these sectors as a developed economy. As an illustration for the problems encountered by Chinese services providers, I would like to mention the application to establish a branch in Sydney by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The application was turned down in a number of occasions by the financial administration of Australia over considerations including Non-Performing Loan rate, return on capital, risk management system and ratings given by major financial institutions. My government believes that reasons given by the Australian side failed to reflect the real operative situation of ICBC and this rejection of the application lacks legitimate ground. We hope that a more objective approach can be employed by the financial administration in Australia in dealing with this issue with a view of an early appropriate solution.
Last but not the least; my government is also very concerned with the high tariff rate maintained by Australia of textiles, clothing and footwear. The tariff rates for the clothing and footwear are respectively 25% and 15% as opposed to the average MFN rate for industrial products at 4.3%. These high tariff rates have caused serious negative effect to the export from many developing countries including China. It is our sincere hope that Australia can take early and effective steps to lower the tariff for the above-maintained products in light of the paragraph 16 of Doha Ministerial Declaration.
With comments on these non-exhaustive issues that my government attaches importance, Mr. Ambassador, let me wish this trade policy review of Australia a success. My government also looks forward to working with the Australian government to further promote the economic and trade relations between our two countries.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest considerations.
Sincerely yours
SUN Zhenyu
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Comments and Questions from China
H.E. Mr. David Herbert SPENCER
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of Australia
to the World Trade Organization
Geneva, 23 September 2002
Dear Ambassador,
I have the honor to refer to the trade policy review of Australia which is going on now in the World Trade Organization. With instructions from Beijing, I am writing this letter to bring to your attention several important issues in our bilateral economic and trade relations to which my government attaches concerns, although these issues are not submitted in written form to the WTO Secretariat within the framework of the trade policy review mechanism.
The first issue is the SPS and TBT measures. China understands and respects Australia’s right to take necessary measures to achieve legitimate SPS and TBT objectives. However, I would like to draw your attention to some of the problems in these fields which we believe have a negative impact on our bilateral trade development. These problems are, among others, the pending Pest Risk Analysis test of China’s apple and peach originating from Shandong and Shaanxi provinces and China’s request for lifting of the ban on Ya pear to be expanded to cover all kinds pears. On the TBT front, my government is looking forward to working out a mutual recognition agreement for machinery and electronic products with Australia with a view to facilitating our bilateral trade in this field. Apart from that, some SPS and TBT requirements in Australia, in our view, are unnecessarily burdensome and go beyond the requirement in the WTO TBT and SPS Agreements. An example of that would be the labeling requirement to indicate the Latin name in addition to the English one for mushroom and fish imports from China. We would therefore like to have Australia’s clarifications on these matters and request that positive steps be taken accordingly to eliminate their negative effects on trade.
The second issue is regarding the granting of businesses visas for corporate employees from China. Chinese companies have complained that they have to meet a series of rigid requirements to obtain long term business visas for their employees. A single non-appliance to any of those requirements will result in the denial of visa application. This rigorous visa regime has not only caused damage to the Chinese companies having or seeking presence in Australia but also hindered the investment inflow from China. My government therefore would like to request that efforts be made by the Australian side to further clarify these requirements and provide facilitation in the process.
Thirdly, I am also instructed to raise concerns over the market access conditions in Australia in trade in services, including telecom, financial service, air and marine transportation etc. Foreign equity interests in these areas are subject to an upper limit, usually less than 50%, and qualification examination from administrative agencies of foreign participants is also required. China believes that the market access threshold to those sectors can be further lowered to promote the free trade in the service area, particularly in view of Australia’s competitiveness in these sectors as a developed economy. As an illustration for the problems encountered by Chinese services providers, I would like to mention the application to establish a branch in Sydney by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The application was turned down in a number of occasions by the financial administration of Australia over considerations including Non-Performing Loan rate, return on capital, risk management system and ratings given by major financial institutions. My government believes that reasons given by the Australian side failed to reflect the real operative situation of ICBC and this rejection of the application lacks legitimate ground. We hope that a more objective approach can be employed by the financial administration in Australia in dealing with this issue with a view of an early appropriate solution.
Last but not the least; my government is also very concerned with the high tariff rate maintained by Australia of textiles, clothing and footwear. The tariff rates for the clothing and footwear are respectively 25% and 15% as opposed to the average MFN rate for industrial products at 4.3%. These high tariff rates have caused serious negative effect to the export from many developing countries including China. It is our sincere hope that Australia can take early and effective steps to lower the tariff for the above-maintained products in light of the paragraph 16 of Doha Ministerial Declaration.
With comments on these non-exhaustive issues that my government attaches importance, Mr. Ambassador, let me wish this trade policy review of Australia a success. My government also looks forward to working with the Australian government to further promote the economic and trade relations between our two countries.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest considerations.
Sincerely yours
SUN Zhenyu
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
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