APEC Summit in Shanghai
Twenty Asia Pacific leaders issued a final declaration at the end of the annual APEC summit. President Jiang Zemin who hosted the meeting said the main priority for the leaders is to reverse the current economic downturn by achieving sustained and broad-based growth although they expressed confidence for the region’s economy in the medium and long term.
Jiang Zemin: We agree that it is particularly important for major economies to act quickly and decisively to 3)stabilize the market.
Mr. Jiang added that the leaders supported a new round of global trade talks while stressing that China’s 4)imminent accession to the World Trade Organization would help 5)strengthen economic cooperation worldwide. And the so-called Shanghai Accord is to lay the foundation for future APEC development in coming years. The leaders also condemned last month’s terrorist attacks on the United States.
THREE Steps of China’s 6)Accession to WTO
10th of November
World Trade Organization ministers are expected to formally approve China’s entry into the global body later tonight. Ministers have also begun negotiations in a bid to reach agreements on a new round of trade talks.
WTO ministers began their meeting in the Qatari capital Doha trying to resolve their differences to launch a new round of global trade talks which they failed to achieve two years ago in Seattle. Developing countries want to ensure that they will not be victimized by the move towards globalization.
The prospects of an agreement received a 7)boost after China’s chief WTO negotiator said the key stumbling block of agricultural 8)subsidies has been resolved. WTO ministers are also expected to agree on an historic decision to welcome China into the trade body tonight.
11th of November
There’s been a generally favorable response to China joining the World Trade Organization. There are hopes that the mainland’s accession will offer a boost to an agreement on a new round of global trade talks. But Beijing warned that membership would bring conflicts and new challenges to the country.
Yusef Hussein Kamal (Qatari Trade Minister): In accordance with the decision-making procedure under Article Nine and Twelve of the World Trade Organization Agreement， agreed November _95 WT/L/93 to adopt the draft decision on the accession of the People’s Republic of China， the Ministers Ministerial Conference so agrees.
The historic announcement in Qatar capped China’s 15-year quest to join the World Trade Organization. Foreign Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng stressed that China will continue to 9)abide by WTO rules and regulations after it becomes the 143rd country to join the global trade body. Mr. Shi later held a series of meetings with other trade ministers for a new round of 10)bilateral negotiations.
12th of November
(At the signing ceremony.)
Mike Moore (WTO Director General): It is a defining moment both for the WTO and for China as well as for the international， economic， political and security arrangements that will influence our world in this century and beyond. In near universal acceptance of the WTO’s rules-based system will serve a 11)pivotal roll in 12)underpinning global economic cooperation.
The accession of China is a 13)momentous event， having these major traders inside will truly show us at last to be a World Trade Organization. In joining this rule’s based organization， which are mutually agreed by 14)consensus， enforceable through the dispute settlements system， China will 15)cement economic reforms that have been 16)unilaterally put into place over more than 20 years. Moreover， in embracing the WTO， Beijing has accepted that openness for trade in goods and services is critical to ensuring a prosperous future for her citizens. Exposure to competition will not be easy， but it will ensure that China and its enterprises become more efficient and more productive. The beginning of the opening up of China in 1979 was one of the 17)hallmark events of the 20th Century. I am confident that when historians reflect on China’s entry into the WTO， they will rank this as one of the most significant events of the 21st， both for China， for the WTO and for the world.
Listening Comprehension
Listen carefully to the following paragraph after you hear the beeps，fill in the blanks with the numbers you hear.
Unemployment in the third quarter of the year rose to 5.3%.This is an increase of
From June till August when the jobless rate stood at .Nearlly more people are unemployed since the last announcement taking the totals to .The undrermployment rate for the same period rose by to .CE
APEC Summit in Shanghai[全文结束]
