Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (
MOFTEC) Sun Zhenyu and Director of
the US Trade and Development Agency (
TDA) Thelma Askey Tuesday signed an
operating framework agreement resuming their long-suspended
governmental trade co-operation in Beijing.
The Chinese side also signed agreements with the TDA on the
TDA-funded Shenhua Coal Liquefaction Project, Shanghai
Environmental Monitoring Project, Shandong Environmental Monitoring
Project and Petro-China Online Automatic Monitoring System
Project.
MOFTEC Minister Shi Guangsheng and the new US Ambassador Clark
Randt, attended the signing-ceremony.
The Sino-US Operating Framework Agreement plays an important role
in bilateral economic and trade ties as well as Sino-US relations,
Shi said when meeting with Randt and Askey, noting that the
agreement marks a new development in the two countries' economic
and trade relations.
He
said that maintaining good economic and trade relations not only
benefits the fundamental interests of both countries, but also aids
the development of bilateral relations at large.
Both Randt and Askey said they hope that the reopening of the
co-operative programmes in China, initiated in 1980 and suspended
in 1989, would contribute to the development of bilateral economic
and trade relations.
The programmes will facilitate China's economy in a positive way,
they said.
In
response to media questions after the signing ceremony, Sun Zhenyu
said that in the 1980s, dozens of TDA co-operative programmes in
China contributed to the expansion of US exports of technology and
equipment .
Sun added that the operating framework agreement and agreements on
four projects signed Tuesday will certainly promote the development
of bilateral trade and investment.
With China's successful bid for the Olympic Games and its upcoming
accession to the World Trade Organization, the resumption of the
Sino-US trade co-operation will inevitably boost the two countries'
trade and investment, promoting their co-operation in energy
resources, environmental protection and telecommunications.
(chinadaily.com.cn
08/01/2001)