China's Spotlights in 2001

1. China was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) last November 10 when the body's fourth ministerial meeting in Doha unanimously agreed on its elevation. This followed some 15 years of negotiation. The accession was finalized one month later, making China the WTO's 143rd member. Following its entry, China has reiterated its promise to further improve its market economy and work with other WTO members in developing a multilateral trade system wholly in line with the organization's rules and regulations.

2. Last July 13 saw Beijing fulfill its, and the whole of China's, dream of winning the right to host the 2008 Olympic Game. Beijing won its bid during the 112th session of the International Olympic Committee in Moscow. This victory will considerably reinforce China's economic aspirations.

Beijing's winning vote means that, for the first time, the world's greatest sports event will be staged in the most populous nation. An International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluation commission report forecasts that "a Beijing Games would leave a unique legacy to China and to sports".

3. China's national men's soccer team broke a 44-year-old jinx to land a spot in the World Cup Finals for the first time by beating Oman 1-0 in Shenyang Wulihe Stadium on October 7. Coached by the globe-trotting Yugoslav Bora Milutinovic, China finished the Cup qualifying competition with a 12-1-1 win-draw-lose record in their seventh attempt since 1957 to enter the finals. They gained an unbeatable lead after the October win and also a ticket to the South Korea-Japan World Cup this year. A 10-team, second-round qualifier that saw the top finishers of the two groups directly qualifies for the finals.

4. Shanghai last October saw a highly successful ninth informal meeting of leaders from the 21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member states. Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who chaired the meeting, delivered a keynote address and held high-powered meetings on economic issues with the world leaders, including US president Bush, who also attended the conference.

APEC members focused on an area slated as "Meeting new challenges in the new century, and achieving common prosperity through participation and cooperation.

This was the cue for high-level, in-depth exchanges of views on the current world economic situation, the building of human capacity, and the future development of APEC. A broad consensus of agreement was reached, resulting in the issuance of what is now on record as the "Shanghai Accord."

5. Despite the global downturn, China's gross domestic product (GDP) last year totaled 9,645 billion Yuan (US$1,162 billion), 7.4 percent up from 2000, and at base a flying start to the government's Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005).

The Fourth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) passed the Outline of the 10th plan for National Economic and Social Development (2001-2005) in March 2001.

6. The Sixth Plenum of the 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held in Beijing in late September, called for sustained efforts to further strengthen the building of Party style, "clean up" the government, and combat corruption. The CPC punished several corrupt officials during 2001 in a determined move to reinforce the building of the Party.

7. Last year also saw the State Council decide to accelerate reforms in China's administrative-approval system, and the State Development Planning Commission cancel sluggish project-approval methods for five types of investment project. This was good news for overseas investors in particular.

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