Around 350 delegates from 30 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will attend the WTO Informal Ministerial Meeting, scheduled to open in Dalian today.

The one-and-a-half-day meeting, which will cover issues of agriculture, industry and development, aims to move forward the previous Doha negotiations, said Zhang Xiangchen, deputy director-general of the Department of WTO Affairs under the Ministry of Commerce.

At a press briefing yesterday, Zhang said the meeting will be a platform for ministers to exchange views, provide political guidance to the negotiation process in Geneva and create favorable conditions for the success of December's 6th WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong.

Delegates at the meeting are from industrial, developing and the least developed nations and regions, representing the interests of WTO members at all levels, Zhang said.

China's Commerce Minister Bo Xilai and Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce, Industry & Technology, John C Tsang are co-chairing the meeting.

WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi will also attend the meeting.

"As a new WTO member, China has actively and constructively participated in WTO negotiations and rule drafting. China is holding the conference with the aim of making a significant contribution to the multilateral trading system," Zhang said.

(China Daily July 12, 2005)