The agreement was reached in Washington DC on Friday at a meeting by Long Yongtu, chief negotiator of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) and Robert Zoellick, the newly-appointed US Trade Representative.

During the meeting, which was described by Chinese sources as " positive and constructive," the two senior trade officials discussed a wide range of issues concerning China's entry into the WTO.

Zoellick expressed America's willingness to accelerate the process of negotiations on China's accession to the world trading bloc at an early date, and the Chinese side appreciated such an approach by the US government, the sources said.

Both sides held that Beijing's early entry into the WTO not only serves the interest of China and the United States, but also helps strengthen the trading institution and the global regime of multilateral trade negotiations.

The two sides agreed that multilateral talks should be kicked off as soon as possible in Geneva to finalize all legal papers for China's accession.

Just for this purpose, China and the United States will propose to the WTO that the China Working Group convene its 16th session. The date of the meeting will be announced soon by the world trading bloc in Geneva, the sources said.

(Xinhua 03/25/2001)