BEIJING (AP) - China and Thailand have signed a bilateral agreement in support of Chinese entry into the World Trade Organization, state-run media reported Friday.
China's Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation minister, Shi Guangsheng, and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi signed the document at a ceremony in Beijing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. No details were immediately available.
China must sign deals with all WTO members to meet its goal of early entry this year into the global rules-making body.
The European Union is the last major WTO member still negotiating with China. The bloc's chief trade negotiator, Pascal Lamy, will arrive in Beijing on March 27 for a weeklong negotiating session, Shi said.
Talks with the EU are in the final phase and "it won't be long before China's entry in the World Trade Organization" is accomplished, Shi said.
China is a major buyer of rubber products from Thailand, the world's largest natural rubber producer. Under existing trade policy, China imposes strict import quotas on rubber that will be eventually rolled back under the WTO's free trade rules.
China this week also reached a bilateral agreement with Colombia.
The other nations that have yet to sign off on China's entry into the WTO are Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Latvia, Switzerland, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador and Argentina.:
