女士们，先生们：

　　很荣幸与各位相聚在加勒比海北部的美丽城镇――坎昆，一同努力来推进多哈发展议程。

　　首先，让我感谢东道主墨西哥政府精心的组织工作，感谢总理事会主席、总干事和WTO秘书处为本次会议付出的努力。

　　中国是第一次以成员身份参加WTO部长级会议。当我走上这个讲坛的时候，深感肩负责任之沉重。中国古代有句名言：以铜为镜，可以正衣冠；以史为鉴，可以知兴替。

　　1981年，也是在这座美丽的小镇上，来自世界22个国家的首脑聚集在此，就调整南北经济关系和恢复全球对话交换意见。这在当时的历史时期无疑具有特殊的意义。时光如梭，22年过去了，世界格局发生了重大变化，但是建立公正合理的国际经济新秩序依然任重道远。

　　从1947年GATT的诞生到1995年WTO的建立，从乌拉圭回合的结束到多哈发展议程的启动，多边贸易体制经历了艰难坎坷。由于人类的智慧和各成员的不懈努力，多边贸易体制才能不断解决面临的问题，在曲折中发展。关贸总协定成立时仅有23个缔约方，今天WTO已经拥有146个成员，代表着95％以上的世界贸易额。在本次坎昆会议上，我们正准备热情欢迎柬埔寨和尼泊尔成为新成员。世界货物贸易总额，也由1948年的580亿美元增长到2002年的6.24万亿美元。这反映了人类社会的进步。在这一进程中，多边贸易体制发挥了十分重要的作用。然而，我们必须看到，发达成员和发展中成员在WTO中的权利并不对称，义务并不平衡，收益并不平等；发达国家针对发展中国家的市场准入壁垒还远未铲除；南北差距非但没有缩小，反而进一步扩大。

　　在关税与贸易总协定创立之初，其条款中就已包含了对发展中国家利益的特别照顾，乌拉圭回合协议更是明确赋予发展中成员特殊和差别待遇。但这些条款并没有得到有效实施。

　　2001年多哈宣言也明确提出确保发展中国家特别是最不发达国家的贸易增长和发展，而多哈会议以来的谈判在这方面并未取得真正的实质性的成果。相反，一些发达成员不断采取贸易保护主义的做法令发展中成员深感失望。

　　能否充分认识上述问题的严重性并及时加以解决，事关WTO的前途和命运。

　　我们认为，谈判中WTO各成员应平等参与，各方的利益都应得到尊重和体现。在WTO成员中，绝大多数是发展中成员，使发展中成员真正从谈判中受益，是多哈发展议程取得成功的基本保障。无视这样一个重要的基本现实，只会使多哈进程更加曲折和漫长。

　　正如诸位所知，作为一个发展中国家，中国政府从提高和改善13亿人民的生活水平出发，提出了在本世纪前20年在中国全面建设小康社会的目标。我要强调的是，中国今天的人均GDP还不到1000美元，20年后，中国实现了它的目标，人均GDP仍不到3000美元，依然只相当于目前中等收入国家人均GDP的平均水平。

　　中国是全世界农业人口最多的国家，农村还有三千万贫困人口，中国农民的人均年收入也还不足300美元。

　　尽管如此，中国在加入世贸组织时仍然做出了巨大的承诺。仅以关税为例，从2001年12月加入世贸组织到2004年1月，中国的总平均关税在实施税率的基础上，在仅仅25个月的时间里，从15.3％下降到10％左右，在迄今为止的所有谈判中，无论是农产品还是非农产品，这样的关税削减速度和幅度都是罕见的。在中国农业相当落后的情况下，中国从加入WTO之日起，取消了所有的出口补贴，并将国内支持约束在低于发展中国家的水平。所有这些，都是对多边贸易体制和新一轮谈判做出的重大贡献。

　　我们认为，新一轮谈判应充分考虑包括中国在内的所有新加入成员的政府和产业，特别是某些脆弱的产业结构调整正在面临巨大压力。要承认新成员已经做出的重要贡献，在新一轮谈判中新成员的特殊关切必须得到有效解决，这样才能体现WTO公平公正的原则。我们已经看到，有很多成员在此方面表达了相同的观点。

　　我还要强调指出的是，中国全面建设小康社会，实现2020年比2000年GDP翻两番，这首先意味着中国市场的规模和总需求翻两番。中国将在这一进程中成为全世界第二个大市场，世界各国都能从中国的发展中找到巨大的商机。从进口来说，在1998年至2002年的5年里，中国从全世界进口总额超过1万亿美元。今年1－8月，每月平均进口额超过310亿美元，按此规模发展，今后三年中国的进口总额将超过1万亿美元，到2010年，中国将每两年进口1万亿美元。历史已经并将继续证明，中国的发展是世界经济发展的重大历史机遇。

主席先生：

　　在对新一轮谈判进行回顾和展望的时候，我们应该正视当前面临的重大分歧和困难。能否化解各方的分歧，推动总体谈判进程，就多哈议程的诸多重大问题达成共识，是坎昆会议能否取得成功的关键。

　　我们认为，农业议题是新一轮谈判的核心问题，高补贴、高支持、高关税的发达成员应该做出重大的实质性的减让承诺，才有可能打破目前的僵局，从而推动整个谈判的进展。农业谈判的三个支柱应当取得平衡进展。

　　我们认为，非农产品的市场准入应该大幅削减关税高峰和取消关税升级，并遵循“非完全互惠”的原则，切实保障经济处于发展中国家水平成员的利益。

我们认为，其他议题应统筹考虑各成员的具体情况，特别是发展中成员的实际困难和立场。特殊和差别待遇和乌拉圭回合协议实施等发展中成员关切的问题应放在优先解决的地位。

主席先生：

　　中国认为：当今世界，和平与发展仍是时代的主题。未来20年，中国把全面建设小康社会作为它最根本的目标。中国经济的发展与繁荣，不仅将惠及13亿中国人民，还将为WTO成员的发展带来重大的经济和贸易利益，中国将不懈地努力实现同它所有贸易伙伴的共同发展。

　　在致力于全面建设小康社会的进程中，中国比任何时候都更加需要公平、合理的国际经济新秩序，更加需要多哈发展议程取得新成果，更加需要参与、加强和发展多边贸易体制。

　　世界是丰富多彩的，各种文明，不同的社会制度和发展道路应彼此尊重。在取长补短中实现互利互惠，在求同存异中促进共同发展。

主席先生：

　　坎昆会议肩负着崇高的历史使命和重大的历史责任，将对新一轮谈判进程和WTO的发展产生深远影响。全世界都在关注着我们。中国代表团愿与各代表团密切合作，在充分协商的基础上，谋求最广泛的共识，为坎昆会议的成功做出努力和贡献。

　　谢谢主席先生。谢谢各位。

Intervention by H.E. LU Fuyuan,

Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China at the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference

(Cancun, Mexico, Sep.10th, 2003)

Honorable Luis Ernesto Derbez, Chairman of the Conference,

Dear Ministers,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am much honored to join you all in Cancun, the beautiful town in North Caribbean Sea, to work together for the progress of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

Let me start by thanking our host, the Mexican Government for its considerate organization. My thanks also go to Chairman of the General Council, Director General and Secretariat of the WTO for their efforts which make this conference possible.

It’s the first time for China to attend the WTO Ministerial Conference as a member. Standing here at the podium, I feel a great deal of responsibility. In China, we have an ancient saying ‘A polished bronze mirror helps you see yourself dress up right, and history as a mirror helps you see behind one’s rise and fall’.

In 1981, also in this nice town, leaders from 22 countries gathered to exchange views on the adjustment of South-North economic relations and the resumption of global dialogue. Undoubtedly, the event was of special significance at that time. Time flies and 22 years elapsed, world pattern has undergone great changes, but still, we are so far away from an international economic new order that is just and reasonable.

From the birth of GATT in 1947 to the establishment of WTO in 1995 and from the conclusion of the Uruguay Round to the launch of DDA, the multilateral trading system has experienced difficulties and frustrations. It is due to the wisdom of mankind and unremitting efforts of all its members that the multilateral trading system managed to resolve its problems one after another and grow up from twists and turns. Built upon GATT which only had 23 contracting parties when it came into being, WTO today already has 146 members who contribute to over 95% of world trade in goods, and the aggregate value of which has also increased from about USD 58 billion in 1948 to USD 6.24 trillion in 2002. And with warm enthusiasm, we are ready to embrace two new members, Cambodia and Nepal at this Cancun Conference. All these reflect progress of the human society, during which the multilateral trading system has played a critical role. Nonetheless, we must be aware that in the WTO the rights of developed and developing members are not symmetrical, their obligations are not balanced and their gains are not equal. We must be aware that the market access barriers imposed by developed nations against developing countries are far from being eradicated and that the gap between the South and the North has been further widened instead of being narrowed.

Actually, GATT in its early days already incorporated a number of articles that gave special attention to the interests of developing members and the Uruguay Round Agreements went a step further by explicitly endowing developing members with special and differential treatment (S&D). However, these articles have not been effectively implemented.

The Doha Declaration 2001 also clearly identified ensuring trade growth and development of developing members in particular least developed countries (LDCs). However, negotiations following the Doha Conference failed to achieve substantive results in real sense in this regard. On the contrary, the trade protective practices constantly adopted by some developed countries have left developing members very disappointed.

Therefore, whether we can have a good sense of the seriousness of the above-mentioned problems and whether we can come up with prompt solutions has a great bearing on the future and fortune of WTO.

We believe that all members should have equal participation in the WTO negotiations with their interests fully respected and reflected. The overwhelming majority of WTO members are developing ones. Therefore enabling developing members to genuinely benefit from the negotiations essentially safeguards the success of DDA. Disregarding such an important basic fact will only result in a more zigzag and lengthy DDA process.

As you all know, China, as a developing country, has proceeded from improving the living conditions of its 1.3 billion people and put forward the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way in the first 2 decades of this century. What I would like to underline is that China’s GDP per capita is below USD 1,000 today and even 20 years later when China attains its goal, its GDP per capita will still be less than USD 3,000, equivalent to the current average per capita GDP of middle-income countries.

As a country with the largest farming population in the world, China still has 30 million rural people living under the poverty line and the annual per capita income of our farmers is below USD 300 on average.

Despite so, China undertook enormous commitments in its accession to the WTO. Just having tariff as an example, the overall average tariff rate of China will be cut from 15.3% to around 10% on the basis of applied rate during as short as 25 months from the beginning of its WTO membership in December 2001 to January 2004. Such a speed and margin of tariff reduction are rarely seen in all negotiations to date, either on agricultural products or on non-agricultural products. Although its agriculture is in a much backward state, China eliminated all its export subsidies and bound its domestic support well below the level of other developing countries upon its accession to the WTO. All these are great contributions to the multilateral trading system and the new round of talks.

We hold that the new round should give full consideration to the huge pressure on the governments and industries of recently acceded members including China, especially the huge pressure that their fragile industries are facing in restructuring. Important contributions made by recently acceded members should be recognized and their particular concerns must be effectively addressed in the new round. Only in this way can the WTO principles of equity and justness be reflected. We have noted that many other members have expressed the same view in this aspect.

Another point I want to emphasize is a well-off Chinese society and its quadrupled GDP by 2020 based on the level of 2000, first and foremost, means that China’s marketplace is to be quadrupled in size and total demand. Correspondingly, China will become the world’s second biggest market, from whose development, all countries of the world can find enormous business opportunities. China imported more than USD 1 trillion from the world during the five years 1998 through 2002. And the first eight months of this year has seen monthly import of over USD 31 billion on average. At such a pace, China will import over USD 1 trillion in the coming three years and by 2010, China will have the ability of importing USD 1 trillion in every two years. History has proven and will continue to prove that China’s development is a major historical opportunity for the growth of the world economy.

Mr. Chairman,

We should face up to the major differences and difficulties before us when taking stock of the new round and looking ahead. The key to the success at this Cancun Conference is that we succeed to bridge divergences of various parties, to drive the overall negotiation process and to reach consensus on the key issues of DDA.

We hold that agriculture is right at the core of the new round. The current stalemate can not be broken nor can the overall negotiations be pushed forwarded unless developed members with high subsidy, high support and high tariffs make major and substantial reduction commitments. Negotiations on all the three pillars should proceed in a balanced way.

We hold that NAMA negotiations should aim to substantially reduce tariff peaks and eliminate tariff escalation and should observe the principle of ‘less than full reciprocity’ to genuinely safeguard the interests of members whose economy are at the level of developing countries.

We hold that in the negotiations on other issues, due consideration should be given to the specific circumstances of different members, especially to the actual difficulties and positions of developing members. Priority should be given to the concerns of developing members such as S&D treatment and Implementation of Uruguay Round Agreements.

Mr. Chairman,

China believes that peace and development are still the themes of our era and the world today. China has set building a well-off society as its fundamental goal for the next 20 years. The development and prosperity of China’s economy will not only benefit 1.3 billion Chinese people, but also bring about significant economic and trade interests to other WTO members. And China will make unremitting efforts to realize common development with all its trading partners.

On our way to a well-off society, we need, more than ever an equitable and reasonable international economic new order, we need new fruits out of the DDA, and we need to participate in, reinforce and advance the multilateral trading system.

Ours is a colorful world. Countries having different civilizations and social systems and taking different roads to development should respect one another and draw upon one another’s strong points to realize mutual benefit and reciprocity and should develop side by side by seeking common ground while shelving differences.

Mr. Chairman,

Blessed with a lofty historical mission and great historical responsibility, the Cancun Conference is destined to have far-reaching impact on the progress of the new round and development of the WTO. The whole world is watching us. The Chinese delegation is willing to cooperate closely and consult fully with other WTO members to pursue the broadest consensus and we are ready to make efforts for and contribute to the success of the Cancun Conference.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you all.