China enters a crucial ‘New Year’ for trade

Two notable speakers made presentations on Feb. 9 at a U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce event. Wei Ruixing, consul general of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago, spoke on “Economic Outlook and Business Opportunities in China upon the Entry of China into the World Trade Organization (WTO).” Dr. Robert Genetski, senior managing director, Chicago Capital Inc., discussed “The Economic Outlook for Year 2000.”

Mr. Wei’s spoke of an unequally developed country—or “Four Chinas”—with coastal cities as the most developed and other regions progressively poorer. “To have become the world’s seventh largest economy so quickly is remarkable,” says Mr. Wei. “However, sustaining a continuing rate of growth will be more difficult from here on.”

China’s GDP is projected to double between 2001 and 2010, with a current GDP growth of 7.1%. Mr. Wei says trade between the two countries has created 1 million new jobs in China and 400,000 in the U.S. “By 2050 China is expected to reach the level of a moderately developed country, confident of a much brighter future,” he adds.

WTO membership is crucial for China. In a major related matter, the U.S. Congress has a China trade bill on its agenda, part of which is consideration of permanent normal trade relations (NTR) status for China.

“China’s membership in the WTO, if fully implemented, would benefit both sides. Without NTR status both countries will lose,” concludes Mr. Wei. “The largest developing country and the largest developed country have a great untapped potential for trade and commerce.”

Indicative of the U.S. Midwest’s growing stature in world commerce, the headquarters and administrative offices of the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce have been relocated from New York to Chicago.

For more information, , visit www.usccc.org , or call 312/368-0430.

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