On July 19, a delegation headed by the Minister of Commerce Chen Deming left Beijing for Geneva, Switzerland to participate in the WTO Small-Scale Ministerial Meeting. The members of the delegation included Vice Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun, Vice Minister of Agriculture Niu Dun and other officials from MOFCOM, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, etc.

The Doha Round Talks are currently at a critical stage, WTO Director-General Pascal Lammy held this small-scale ministerial meeting aiming at promoting the two core subjects of agriculture and nonagricultural, and making a breakthrough as the foundation for concluding the negotiation by the end of the year. Over 30 WTO members including the United States, EU, India, Brazil, China and other countries will send delegations to attend the meeting. The meeting shall start from July 21, and is expected to last for a week.

Since China joined WTO in 2001, China always firmly supports and actively participates in the Doha Round Talks, and has played a constructive role in each subject. This time the Chinese government’s sending a high-level and multi-department delegation to attend the meeting, once again demonstrates its determination in promoting an early and successful conclusion of the negotiations. Beside attending the small-scale ministerial meeting, Minister Chen Deming will also be present at the ministerial-level discussion of trade in services and hold a bilateral consultation with the trade minister of members concerned.

The Doha Round Talks are the first round of multilateral trade negotiations since the founding of WTO, and are by far with the most participants and most extensive subjects, involving agriculture, manufacturing, services, trade rules, intellectual property and other topics, covering over 95% of global trade.