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China signs WTO deals with Norway and Iceland

SHANGHAI: China has signed agreements with Norway and Iceland on its entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the official People's Daily said on Saturday.

China's chief trade negotiator Long Yongtu signed the accords with the two nations in Geneva on Friday, the newspaper said.

Beijing sealed agreements on WTO with Uruguay, Peru and Cuba this week, official media have said.

China and the European Union recently concluded two-and-a-half days of talks on Beijing's bid to join the 135-member WTO, but key issues remain to be worked out in another round of technical negotiations in Beijing in late February.

The newspaper said the latest round of talks with the European Union had made "substantial" progress.

A joint statement issued by China and the EU on Wednesday said officials discussed market access for industrial and agricultural goods. On industrial goods, talks focused on tariffs and the phasing out of quotas, the statement said.

They also discussed telecommunications, financial services, distribution, tourism and legal and accounting and other services where the EU wants greater access for European companies to the Chinese market.

China and the United States clinched a landmark WTO deal in November last year, but the agreement now faces a political battle in Congress.

China, which still has to complete bilateral talks with at least a dozen other WTO member countries, has said it hopes to join the WTO in the first half of this year.-Reuters