PARIS, April 26: China will become a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) before November, Director-General Renato Ruggerio told the International Herald Tribune in an interview published today."I think that since the visit (to the United States) by China's Prime Minister there have been many encouraging signs, and I believe we can have China in the WTO before November when the WTO begins its next trade round in agriculture, services and electronic commerce," Ruggerio said.His comments came as US and EU trade negotiators were in Beijing to discuss China's bid to join the WTO.This is Ruggerio's last week as WTO Director-General, a post he has held since April 1995, but diplomats are deadlocked over the choice of a successor.Ruggerio said he had no intention of staying on if WTO members failed to agree on a new chief, choosing between Mike Moore of New Zealand and Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand.Asked how he would characterise trade relations between the United States and Europe in the wake of an ongoing row over the Banana trade, Ruggerio said: These two major trading partners share the same basic interests and so I am extremely reluctant to speak of trade wars."He added "let us remember that there is a common interest in having open markets inside a rules-based system. So they fight, they yell, but at the end they agree."Even in the banana case, the EU has finally accepted the ruling we gave." Top
