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Commerce minister heads for New Delhi WTO meeting
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-03 07:01

BEIJING: Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming left for New Delhi Wednesday to participate in a World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting, the Ministry of Commerce said.

The three-day meeting, the first since a Geneva meeting in July 2008 broke down, aims to restart the Doha Round of WTO talks, which have stalled since July 22, 2006 over divisions on a raft of issues concerning agriculture, industrial barriers, and tariffs.

A source with the Chinese delegation said the upcoming meeting should reflect the common understanding and compromise reached by the leaders at the Group of Eight (G8) + 5 summit in L'Aquila, Italy in July. It should also lay a solid foundation for the completion of the Doha Round of talks by 2010.

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China has been a staunch supporter of free trade, and wants to always play a constructive role in concluding the Doha Round of talks. China is willing to work with other parties to achieve substantial results during the negotiation, said the source.

As the global economy is hard hit by the financial crisis, a successful Doha Round would help restore the world's confidence in economic recovery, and shield against protectionism. Every member nation, including  developing countries, will benefit, said the source.