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2003年3月WTO南部非洲关税同盟贸易政策审议-中国代表团的发言(英文)
              Statement of the Chinese Delegation
         at the WTO Trade Policy Review of South Africa Customs Union
                   23 March, 2003


Madam Chairperson:

  Thank you for giving me the floor.
 
  Firstly, China would like to join the preceding members in thanking the delegation from SACU for its great efforts taken to secure this successful review of its trade policy. We would also like to thank the discussant, Ambassador Amina Mohamed, for her precise, comprehensible and insightful observation on the trade policy of SACU. Our gratitude goes to you, Madam Chair, for your wisdom and skill to guide us through one of the smoothest trade policy reviews in WTO.

  SACU and China has been enjoying close and mutually benefiting trade relationship for decades. As the leading member of SACU, South Africa is also a major trading partner of China in African Continent. Bilateral trade between South Africa and China has increased by 195 times over the last ten years, reaching US$2.58 billion in 2002. The strong momentum of development has also been maintained in the areas of investment and economic cooperation during the past years.

  Although the bilateral trade between China and SACU accounts for merely 0.4% of Chinese overall trade volume, which is largely disproportionate with the economic scales of the two economies, yet we are confident that trade potentials and benefits can be further explored through joint efforts with the existence of complementary advantages and enhanced economic exchanges between the two sides. Thanks to the further integration of world economy and the ever strong political will to cooperate, we believe the bilateral economic relationship will be further strengthened between China and the SACU member countries.

  Madam Chair, my delegation commends SACU’s great seriousness to this review and acknowledges its efforts in compilation of its trade policy report and reply to the questions raised. When this review ends today, I am sure SACU will continue to face the task of restructuring and reform in the years to come. Efforts taken by both SACU governments and other WTO members would help bring a more transparent and liberal trade regime to SACU to the benefit of both its regional economy and the WTO communities as a whole.

  Finally, I would like to thank the Secretariat and the governments of SACU for their painstaking efforts in preparing the reports and congratulate SACU on its most successful review during the past days.

  Thank you Madam Chairperson.

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