People in China are experiencing both gains and pressure arising
from the nation's accession to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) last
October, something they have been talking about for years.
Among topics lawmakers talk much about at the ongoing annual
session of China's top legislature are falling car prices, cheaper
personal computers, sluggish demand for domestic farming produce,
and opening of hospitals partly funded by overseas capital, all in
response to the WTO entry.
- Soybean producers face challenge
Zhao Xueli, a deputy to the Fifth Session of the Ninth National
People's Congress (NPC), said "the negative impact is already
there" on the soybean-producing Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoling
provinces in northeast China, the country's major source of
soybeans.
The lawmaker from Heilongjiang said China's indigenous soybeans
face a difficult situation: a shrinking share of the world market,
large soybean imports, and domestic edible oil plants turning to
imported soybeans for their lower prices and higher oil output.
Cheng Yangzhen, a farmer deputy from Zhejiang Province, east China,
said she is adapting to the changes after China's WTO
accession.
Cheng, a vegetable and fruit grower and exporter, said demand for
her products in the Japanese market is rising, but Japanese
importers are also imposing stricter standards on quality and
packaging.
In
his government work report to the legislature, Chinese Premier Zhu
Rongji mentioned more than 10 times the phrase "WTO", noting
enterprises in some less competitive sectors will sustain greater
pressure from outside competitors after WTO accession.
Gu
Shengzu, member of the country's national top advisory body, the
National Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said auto prices
have been falling time and again during the past three months due
to the impact of WTO entry.
Gu, vice-mayor of Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province in central
China, said he is very much concerned that the prospect of the auto
and steel industries in the city, and the two pillars of the local
economy, would encounter difficulties.
Another lawmaker, Jiang Hongbin, said a 100-million-yuan oil plant
he set up with others was shut down, because the per ton price of
similar imports from the United States is 100 yuan lower than his
products.
Zhong Shan, the top foreign trade official in Zhejiang, said he is
happy with China's WTO
entry as the province recorded a 45.5 percent increase in
exports during the first two months of this year, the highest
growth rate in China.
Early this week, an overseas-funded hospital was set up in
Shanghai, the first of its kind in this biggest industrial and
business center in China. Liu Yinglong, a local medical expert,
said this would exert pressure state-owned hospitals in the
country.
Economist Hu Hongmin has been following closely the unemployment
issue in the country. He noted that the manufacturing, commerce,
building and mining sectors account for 86.5 percent of the
country's layoffs.
The sectors are expected to lay off more workers, said the
economist, adding private and overseas-funded firms are to create
more jobs now that China has become a WTO member.
He
Jingzhi, a NPC deputy and general manager of the Shanghai Branch of
China Life Insurance Co., said the insurance sector is entering an
era of neck-breaking competition.
There are 26 insurance companies operating in Shanghai, with a
majority of them being overseas-funded ones.
Zhang Qie, a noted writer, said he has seen a growing flow of
overseas cultural products into the Chinese market, impacting the
thinking of the Chinese people.
"But I believe in the vitality of traditional Chinese culture,
philosophy in particular," he said.
Trade expert Bian Changtai said it is an urgent task for China to
get familiar with the WTO rules and international norms. "The
pressure arising from the WTO entry is due to inadequate knowledge
about WTO rules, and the impact of WTO entry comes from poor
preparedness," he said.
Economist Song Hai said the biggest gain from WTO accession is it
inspires all sectors and industries of China to improve their
international competitiveness, which is conducive to making the
country richer and stronger.
"The WTO accession urges us to march forward in big strides. We
have no alternative but marching on," said the economist.
( March 8, 2002)