PACIFIC BASIN ECONOMIC COUNCIL
MAIN PAGE | CLIPS | 2001 | PBEC URGES CHINA TO PROMOTE MARKET LIBERALIZATION

PBEC urges China to promote market liberalization Hong Kong Economic Journal Tuesday, June 20, 2001 Robert Lees, the Secretary General of Pacific Basin Economic Council, said he believed that China will overcome all obstacles and enter the WTO before the end of this year. He thought that China should take the initiative, leading ASEAN countries to push APEC and the WTO for a more liberalized and open market. Mr. Lees recently met with senior officials and business leaders from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. He said in the past decade, China had achieved impressive economic growth, and its leadership receives good marks for their performance. On the contrary, APEC could not push forward economic and trade liberalization for political reasons. Mr. Lees said that with its current economic strength and the capabilities of its leadership, China will overcome the obstacles in front of its accession to WTO and complete the process before the end of this year. What’s more, he thought China should take a lead in APEC to promote market liberalization and become an active member of the WTO. Several ASEAN economies are now stagnant because of their political problems; for Japan, its economy has remained in recession in the past decade, making members of Japan next generation feel frustrated with their future. Mr. Lees hoped that under its new leadership, Japan would carry out reform and return to the track of economic growth, otherwise, it will lose its leading position in Asia. The Japanese economy is very important for Asian countries, its growth will improve the economy of whole region, and Japanese corporations will also be able to increase their investments in this region. The Japanese government should take its responsibility to revive the country’s economy. Mr. Lees said that there is a huge population of 500 million people in the ASEAN region; if these countries can set up the so-called ASEAN Free Trade Area, it will become a great economy with market potential similar to that of the EU and the US. Translated by Jun Chen. Click here for a scan of the original article.