The non-official meeting of WTO Trade Negotiations Committee was convened on the morning of July 21. Over 80 trade ministers, in total, were present at the meeting, including 35 members attending small ministerial meeting and other members. Minister of Commerce Chen Deming, headed his delegation, attended and delivered a speech at the meeting. Vice Minister of Agriculture Niu Dun and Vice Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun were also present at the meeting.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lammy pointed out in his speech that, confronting with such challenges as the current food crisis, energy crisis, turbulence of the financial market, etc, Doha Round Talks was urgently needed to achieve the accomplishment, which as a result could bring significance to the healthy development of global economy. The Doha Round Talks are a tough task that all the members should, based on the Chairman’s text, work hard in the following week, so as to achieve the negotiating pattern of agriculture and non-agriculture on July 26.
　
In their speeches, the Ministers present at the meeting appraised the estimation of the situation and the arrangements of the negotiation by Lammy. They expressed that they would actively participate in the negotiation, endeavor to achieve the negotiating pattern of agriculture and non-agriculture to an ambitious level, and realize the target of concluding the Doha Round Talks within 2008. The developing members generally stressed the importance of the developing target in their speeches, and required the developed countries to substantially cut the domestic trade-distorting support as well as the other trade barriers, so as to properly settle down the concern of developing countries. Such developed countries as the U.S. and EU should keep their requirements on further improving the market access level of the main developing countries.

Chen expressed in his speech that the Doha Round Talks exert crucially important influence on the global economy, the economic development of the developing countries in particular. China has always actively supported the earlier accomplishments of the Talks. Chen pointed out that the Doha Round Talks are a round of talks on development, and the some unbalance still exists in the current negotiating text should be settled through negotiation. He stressed that agriculture was the core of Doha Round Talks and the concern of the developing countries on special products and special protecting system should be solved. Under the strain due to the skyrocketing price of world agricultural products, the main members had the capability and responsibility to greatly cut down the trade-distorting domestic support. Non-agricultural negotiation had many problems to be settled through the negotiation as well. At last, Chen called on all the members to make joint efforts to complete the talks and achieve a mutually beneficial and win-win situation at the crucial time, especially at the crucial moment when numerous difficulties are confronting the world economy.