RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/C/M/96 
13 November 2009 
 (09-5649) 
Council for Trade in Services  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 5 NOVEMBER 2009 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. On 5 November 2009, the Council for Trad e in Services held a meeting under the 
Chairmanship of Ambassador Yonov Frederick Ag ah (Nigeria).  The agenda was contained in 
document WTO/AIR/3466. 
2. The Chairperson
 indicated that, under Other Business, he would make a statement concerning 
the organisation of the next meeting of the Counc il, and a representative of the Secretariat would 
make two announcements, on the up dated compilation of enquiry and contact points and on the e-
training course on the GATS. 
3. The agenda was adopted , as modified. 
4. The Chairperson  asked representatives to speak at a modera te pace to facilitate interpretation. 
A. NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO ARTICLES III:3  AND V:7 OF THE GATS 
5. Starting with the notifications made pursuant to Article III:3 of the GATS, the Chairperson  
drew attention to:  two notifications received fro m Albania and contained in documents S/C/N/516 
and S/C/N/528;  four notifications received from Ne w Zealand, circulated in documents S/C/N/518 to 
S/C/N/521;  and twelve more notifications receive d from China, contained in documents S/C/N/522 
and S/C/N/527 and S/C/N/529 to S/C/N/534.  
6. The Council took note  of the notifications made. 
7. The Chairperson  then drew attention to three notifications made pursuant to GATS 
Article V:7 (Economic Integration), from:  th e European Communities and the Former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, circulated as document S/C/ N/514;  the European Communities and Albania, 
contained in document S/C/N/515;  and the Eu ropean Communities and Croatia, contained in 
document S/C/N/517.  
8. The Council took note  of the notifications, and referred  the agreements notified to the 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements for examination. 
B. TRANSITIONAL REVIEW UNDER SECTION 18 OF THE PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION OF THE 
PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA  
9. The Chairperson  recalled that Section 18 of the Accession Protocol of the People's Republic 
of China provided for an annual Review of the implementation by China of the WTO Agreement and 
of the related provisions of China's Accession Protocol .  As indicated in Section 18, the Committee on 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. S/C/M/96 
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  Trade in Financial Services (CTFS) and the Council for Trade in Services were two of the bodies in 
which this Review was to be c onducted.  When it concluded its Review, the CTFS was to submit a 
report to the Council, which would form part of the Council's report to the General Council.  The 
General Council would co nduct its own Review. 
10. The Committee on Trade in Financial Services had conducted and concl uded the Transitional 
Review under Section 18 of China's Accession Protoc ol on Monday, 2 November 2009.  A report had 
been submitted by the Committee, contained in docu ment S/FIN/23.  The Chairperson proposed that 
the Council take note of the report by the Co mmittee on Trade in Financial Services, on the 
understanding that it would form part of th is Council's report to the General Council. 
11. The Council so agreed
. 
12. Moving on to the Council's own Transitional Review, the Chairperson  drew Members' 
attention to the communication from China, in doc ument S/C/W/309, which provided the information 
required by Annex 1A of China's Accession Protocol .  He proposed that the Council follow the same 
procedure as in previous Reviews.  First, China would be invited to respond to the comments and 
questions contained in the communications from the European Communitie s (S/C/W/306), Japan 
(S/C/W/307) and the United States (S/C/W/308).  Afte r China's statement, the floor would be open for 
delegations to make comments.  Then , China would be invited to respond. 
13. The representative of China  recalled that that was the Eighth Transitional Review of China's 
commitments by the Council for Trade in Services.  Before the meeting, her delegation had received 
over 60 questions, from the European Communities, Jap an and the United States.  She thanked those 
Members for their interest in China's trade policy.  
14. Before moving to the specific questions, she wish ed to make a few points about China's trade 
in services.  First of all, the Chinese governme nt had fully honoured its commitments since its 
accession and had adopted openings in many services sectors that went beyond its commitments.  
China, as a developing Member, had achieved a rela tively high level of opening of its services trade 
regime.  Second, over the previous year, interna tional trade had shrunk substantially as the result of 
the international financial crisis, and both trade in  goods and in services had dropped steeply.  As an 
outward-looking developing country, China had also  experienced a decrease in services trade (and a 
sharp increase in its trade deficit) due to the fa ll in external demand.  Faced with the unprecedented 
difficulty and challenge brought on by the cris is, China hoped to join hands with other WTO 
Members in taking commitments and promote an open tr ading regime, in order to foster the recovery 
of the world economy and of international trade.  
15. She then turned to the specific questions raised by Members. 
1. Air transport services  
(a) Inability of approved Chinese agents to sell tickets using foreign CRS 
16. According to China's accession commitments, fo reign airlines eligible to conduct business 
operations in China according to bilateral agreements  were permitted to use foreign CRS to provide 
services.  Chinese agents of foreign airlines were al lowed to make an application to the CAAC in 
order to use foreign CRS, and were permitted to u se foreign CRS to sell tickets after approval had 
been granted.  According to the CAAC, no inform ation had been received about foreign airlines or 
their approved agents failing to use foreign CRS to se ll their tickets.  This point had been made clear 
by China at the previous Review.   S/C/M/96 
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  17. In short, China had been complying with its  accession commitment.  At present, all foreign 
airlines with operation qualifications were using thei r own CRS systems, most of which were foreign 
CRS.  To apply for the use of foreign CRS, sales agen ts appointed by foreign airlines were required to 
follow the Provisional Administrative Measures on the Usage of Computer (passenger) Reservation 
System by Foreign Air Transport Enterprises and thei r Sales Agents within the Territory of China , 
pending the promulgation of new regulations.  
(b) Decision of the State Council on Establis hing Administrative Permission for the 
Administrative Examination and Approval of Items Necessary to be Retained  
18. The question raised by the European Communities about administrative permissions 
concerned the activities of both the CAAC and the Tourism Bureau.  Item 298 was implemented by 
the Administrative Regulations on the Printing of Civil Air Transport Vouchers (CAAC, Order No. 
126, 23 August 2004).  As for Item 301 on "examina tion and approval for the access of foreign CRS", 
relevant regulations were under amendment, and at present the representative was unable to provide 
the content of the draft regulations, as asked by  European Communities in paragraph 10 of its 
submission.  In formulating the regulations, the CAAC had invited and would continue to invite 
opinions from foreign CRS.  
19. Item 360, 361 and 362 were related to touris m businesses, the implementing regulations of 
which included the Regulations on Travel Agencies and Provisional Administrative Measures for 
Border Tourism .  
2. Construction services  
(a) Scope restriction and registered capital requirements for contracting projects  
20. Foreign-funded enterprises were allowed to undertake four types of engineering projects 
according to the market access commi tment undertaken by China, and at present there were no plans 
to introduce any change in that regard.  
21. To ensure the quality and safety of constructi on engineering and for the orderly functioning of 
the construction market, the current Qualification Standard for Construction Enterprises  specified 
that the value of a single contract to be entered in to by a construction enterprise could not exceed the 
equivalent of five times the amount of its regist ered capital.  This requirement applied to both 
domestic and foreign-funded constr uction enterprises.  Therefore,  Japan's assertion that foreign 
companies were confronted by additional restrictions could not be upheld.  
22. The United States, Japan and European Communities had all expressed concerns on the 
minimum registered capital requirement provided for by Order No.113, and had asked that it be 
replaced with alternative financial instruments.  However, China had no plans to make any such 
change at present.  According to the enterprise qua lification management regul ations and the relevant 
qualification standards, different requirements with respect to registered capital applied to different 
enterprises.  These requirements were explained mainly  by the need that ente rprises secure a capacity 
sufficient to undertake relevant risks in contracting engineering projects.  As systems of engineering 
guarantees and letters of guarantee to cover risks we re not well-established in China and the relevant 
market needed to improve further, the conditions necessary make such a change had not been fulfilled 
as yet.  Minimum registered capital requirements co uld not be replaced by financial instruments like 
bank securities or insurance bonds.  The minimum registered capital and assets requirements for construction enterprises were operated uniformly  as per the market access regulations of the 
construction industry, and applied to  all construction enterprises incorporated in China, including both 
domestic and foreign-funded enterprises.  S/C/M/96 
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  (b) Relevant restrictions in Order No.114, Ad ministrative Regulations for Foreign-funded  
Construction Engineering Design Enterprises , and the "temporary" stipulations in its detailed 
implementation measures  
23. Order No.114 involved foreign-funded engineer ing design enterprises.  In the engineering 
design sector, China had made substantial commitm ent in its accession, some of which had even 
exceeded the commitments made by some developed Members.  At present, foreign design companies 
were providing construction design service in the territory of China through various channels.  
24. To comply with its WTO commitments, China had issued the Administrative Regulations for 
Foreign-funded Construction Engineering Design Enterprises (Order No.114).  During the 
implementation process, China had issued, in 2007, the detailed implementation rules for Order 
No.114, in Notice No.18.  This had been done in view of the fact that the channels for foreign 
technical personnel to obtain Chinese architect and ch artered architect qualifications had not yet been 
established and that mutual recognition of qualifica tions between relevant countries had not yet been 
accomplished, and with the objective of ensuring the smooth registration and qualification application 
process for foreign-funded construction engineer ing design enterprises.  Notice No. 18 clearly 
provided that the requirements on the proportion and residence of foreign architects and engineers 
could "not be applied temporarily".  China would be  adjusting the relevant regulations in line with 
progress made with respect to the mutual recognitio n of engineering design qu alifications and other 
relevant work.  
(c) Residency requirements for foreign professional personnel in Notice No.73 related to foreign 
staff in construction enterprises  
25. Since its accession to the WTO, China had co mplied with its commitments.  China had 
unified the qualification management system for dom estic and foreign-funded enterprises, and granted 
national treatment to foreign-funded enterprises c ontracting projects in China.  Against such a 
background, China had formulated the Implementation Measures for the Management of Relevant 
Qualifications in Administrative Regulations on the Qualifications of Foreign-funded Construction 
Enterprises  (Order No. 73).  In engineering contr acting activities, foreign-funded construction 
enterprises, just like Ch inese enterprises, were required to hire some engineering technical 
management personnel to conduct site  management work, in order to ensure the quality, safety and 
profitability of the project.  Any foreign personnel was required to stay in China for a certain period of 
time.  This was necessary to manage the enterpri ses' engineering construction projects and did not 
constitute a violation of national treatment.   
(d) The inconsistency between Order No.160 and No.202 
26. The United States had misunderstood Article 17 of Order No.160.  This Article read:  "In the 
first time of applying for engineering design qualif ication, the grade of qualification applied for may 
not exceed Grade B".  Otherwise said, no enterpri se, including foreign-funded ones, was allowed to 
apply for Grade A qualifications directly in their fi rst application for engineering design qualifications 
(except where Grade A was the only established grad e).  The implementation opinions in Document 
No.202 did not put forward any extra requirements fo r foreign-funded enterprises in making their first 
application for design qualifications.  There was th erefore no inconsistency between the provisions of 
Document No.202 and those of Order No.160.  Th e two provisions applied equally to domestic and 
foreign-funded enterprises, so that th ere was no national treatment infringement. 
(e) The provision of project management services by foreign enterprises  
27. The United States had misunderstood the relevant provisions.  According to the Trial 
Regulations on the Management of  Construction Engineering Projects  (Document No.200),  S/C/M/96 
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  enterprises with one or more qualifications for engi neering survey, design, c onstruction, supervision, 
cost consulting and bidding invitation agents we re allowed to engage in engineering project 
management business.  If a foreign-funded enterpri se had acquired one or more qualifications listed 
above, according to Order No.113, 114 and 155, th e enterprise was allowed conduct engineering 
project management business within the scope of its qualification.  China did not require that foreign-
funded enterprises obtain the qualification of cons truction enterprise or design enterprise before 
engaging in project management business.  Even if the detailed implementation rules for Order No.155 were going to be formulated in the future, they would only introduce procedural provisions on 
the incorporation of engineering service enterprise s and the relevant qualification application process 
(for engineering supervision, engineering cost cons ulting, and bidding invitation agents qualifications) 
for foreign investors, and would not ex ceed the provisions of Order No.155.  
(f) Requirements on the number of architects and the floor area of offices 
28. To ensure the quality and safety of construction projects, the Chinese government started to 
develop architects' teams in 2002.  After seven y ears of development, the number of architects in 
China could fully meet market demand.  
29. As indicated at the previous Review, to ensu re an orderly functioning of the construction 
market and to prevent bogus companies, and in view of the characteristics of engineering construction 
enterprises, China required enterprises to have a fixed work premise corresponding to their sector of 
operation.  Some local governments had introduced more detailed provisions, with the aim of better 
regulating and developing the local market, whic h applied to both domest ic and foreign-funded 
enterprises.  The representative noted neverthel ess that the issue fell beyond the scope of the 
Transitional Review. 
(g) Granting equal treatment to foreign architects and engineers 
30. A question had been raised by Japan concerni ng the qualifications of architects.  The 
representative explained that, since Japan has not concluded a mutual recognition agreement with 
China, the professional personnel of either Japan or Ch ina were unable to take the qualification test of 
the other country.  China suggested that Japan make an investigation with its own authorities in this 
regard.  In compliance with its commitment, China had not treated foreign and national architects and 
engineers differently.  Any professional (including of foreign origin) who had obtained the Chinese 
charted architect or engineer qualification was allo wed, after registration, to engage in licensed 
business in accordance with the relevant regulations.  In this regard, Members might refer to the 
provisions in Order No.167. 
3. Distribution services  
(a) Distribution of refined oil products  
 (i) The effectiveness of Order No.38  31. Order No.38 involved two issues, i.e. the rectif ying of refineries and the regulation of the 
distribution order.  After accession to the WTO, China had opened up the distribution sector in 
accordance with its commitments, and all enterpri ses fulfilling the requirements specified in the 
Administrative Measures for Refined Oil Products Market and Administrative Measures for Crude Oil 
Market could apply to the Ministry of Commerce for domestic operation rights of crude oil and 
refined oil products.  The distribution market wa s completely open to enterprises of different 
ownership structure.  S/C/M/96 
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   (ii) The supply channel of refined oil products  
32. The requirement that refined oil products dist ributors have a legal and stable supply channel 
of refined oil was imposed to redu ce intermediate chains in refined oil distribution, thus bringing 
down market distribution costs.  By the end of 200 8, there were 2,519 wholesale enterprises of refined 
oil products in China, and foreign-funded ente rprises were allowed to choose to sign supply 
agreements with any of the enterprises meeting the requirements specified in the Administrative 
Measures for Refined Oil Products Market .  China also noted that the signing of refined oil products 
contracts between enterprises was a market activity and contracts were agreed upon by the parties 
concerned after consultation and in light of actual conditions.  
(iii) Provisions of the Notice on Relevant Issues about the Business Operation of the Private 
Enterprises of Refined Oil Products  (NDRC, No.602 [2008]) on the profit margin of 
retailers  
33. The provisions of Notice No.602 concerning the profit margin of retailers of refined oil 
products had been replaced by the relevant provisions of the NDRC Notice on the Printing and 
Issuing of the Administrative Measures for Oil Price (for Trial Implementation)  (NDRC, No.1198), 
which had been promulgated in May 2009.  The document was available on the NDRC's website, at 
www.ndrc.gov.cn.
 
(iv) Out-of-court remedies for complaints re lated to abuse of dominant position by state-
owned enterprises 
34. The Antitrust Law of the People's Republic of  China specified the penalties for abuse of 
dominant position.  China invited Members to refe r to Articles 38 and 47 of the Law for further 
details.  
(b) Distribution of pharmaceutical products – Need to create a separate lega l entity to import and 
distribute pharmaceuticals and permission for wholesalers to outsource the warehousing of 
the goods  
35. As explained at the previous Review, pharmaceu tical distribution enterprises were allowed to 
conduct import and export activities according to the law.  Besides, pharmaceutical manufacturing 
enterprises were also permitted to import pharmaceuti cal products produced by their affiliates outside 
China, after obtaining import and export operation rights.  The main legal bases included the Foreign 
Trade Law, Measures for the Administration of Foreign Investment in the Commercial Sector  and the 
Circular of the Ministry of Commerce on Expanding  the Business Scope of Non-commercial Foreign-
funded Enterprises to Include Commodities Distribution .  Foreign-funded non-commercial enterprises  
had to follow the relevant procedures in order to  increase their distribution business scope.  According 
to the Notice of the Ministry of Commerce on the Decen tralization of the Power to Approve Foreign-
funded Commercial Enterprises  (MOFCOM No.51 [2008]) promulgated by the Ministry of 
Commerce on 12 September 2008, the establishment a nd modification of foreign-funded commercial 
enterprises engaged in pharmaceutical business had to  be examined and approv ed by provincial-level 
chambers of commerce.  
36. The application procedure had been addressed at  the previous Review, and the representative 
invited Members to refer to the relevant record, as well as to Article 14 of the Law of the People's 
Republic of China on Drug Administration and Articles 11 and 12 of its implementation rules. 
37. Concerning the outsourcing of warehousing by wholesalers, the Measures for the 
Administration of Foreign Investment in the Commercial Sector did not require pharmaceutical 
wholesale enterprises to have self-owned wareh ousing facilities.  Foreign-funded commercial  S/C/M/96 
 Page 7 
 
 
  enterprises were allowed to lease premises for warehousing.  The Contract Law had a special chapter 
on warehousing contracts in its Specific Provisions, wh ich encouraged market trade and protection of 
the rights and interests of market operators according to the law.  
(c) Sales via the internet  
(i) Requirement of a telecommunication licence for the provision of distribution services  
38. Concerning the question by the European Communities on retail via the internet, the 
representative explained that enterprises that did not provide network platform services for third parties and without the characteris tics of value-added telecommunica tion services were generally not 
required to obtain an ICP license.  These enterpri ses just needed to file  a record with the 
telecommunication authority after their incorporation.  
(ii) ICP license for authorised service suppliers to provide services via the internet  
39. The information service via the internet referre d to in Japan's question was a value-added 
telecommunication service, and not a distribution servi ce.  It therefore fell under "online trade and/or 
data processing (including trade processing)", under value-added telecommunication services in China's schedule.  Accordingly, China's commi tments limited the shares of a value-added 
telecommunication enterprise held by foreign investors to 50% of the total.  
(d) Direct selling  
(i) Examination and approval of a pplications for direct selling  
40. During the previous Transitional Review, China had already clarified that the Chinese 
Government had never stopped the ex amination and approval of applica tions for direct selling.  In 
2007, 2008 and 2009, both Chinese and foreign-funded enterprises, including the US company Kelti, 
had been granted such approval.  
41. The Chinese Government had been conducting the examination and approva l of applications 
in compliance with its accession commitments, on the basis on actual domestic circumstances, and 
treating domestic and foreign ente rprises consistently.  China had always attached importance to 
communicating with applicants and giving timely f eedback of supplementary or amendment opinions 
on the application material.  Timely adjustments to  and provision of application material by the 
applicants would also help shorten the examina tion and approval period.  The Chinese Government 
was going to approve applications and issue li censes for direct selling to genuinely qualified 
applicants in accordance with Article 9 of the Direct Selling Regulations  and other applicable 
regulations.  
(ii) Service centres  
42. As indicated during the previous year's Tr ansitional Review, China had never required 
provincial offices to be established in the provincia l capital, as the United States had stated in its 
question.  Salespeople sold products directly to e nd-customers away from a fixed location.  The direct 
sellers had to fully take into account the needs of customers and salespeople by establishing service 
centres in areas where they conducted direct selling,  so as to facilitate the understanding of the price 
and performance of products and their returning or  replacing.  Direct selling enterprises could choose 
to establish their service networks based on the needs of their business development.  S/C/M/96 
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  (iii) Direct selling experience requirements under Article 7.2 of the Direct Selling 
Regulations .  
43. China referred Members to the explanations gi ven during the previous Transitional Review.  
Article 7.2 of the Direct Selling Regulations literally provided for "foreign investors", rather than 
"foreign-invested enterprises".  
(iv) Compensation caps for salespeople  
44. As had been explained during previous Tr ansitional Reviews, the Chinese Government 
regulated the direct selling industry based on the actual circumstances and status of social and 
economic development in China.  Pyramid selling and disguised pyramid selling were prohibited and 
cracked down upon.  If an excessive compensation rate was set, some enterprises might use it as a 
lure, thereby distorting normal incentive mechanisms, and ultimat ely damaging the interests of 
consumers, salespeople and enterp rises and obstructing the healthy de velopment of the direct selling 
industry.  The representative noted, nevertheless, that the discussion on this issue was beyond the 
scope of the Transitional Review.  She pointed out that direct selling was a new industry in China. 
Countries needed to consider their cultural, histor ical and social specificities and customise policies 
accordingly, in order to ensure the healthy developm ent of the industry in the long-run and make sure 
that customers and all suppliers, both domestic and foreign, would benefit from its growth. 
(e) Retail services  
(i) "Informal" minimum capital requirements on foreign retailers  
45. The representative asked the United States to cl arify what was meant by "informal" minimum 
capital requirement.  China had no awareness of an y such requirements.  As had been explained 
during the previous Transitional Revi ew, according to Article 7 of the Measures for Administration on 
Foreign Investment in Foreign Fields , the minimum registered capital of foreign invested commercial 
enterprises had to meet applicable provisions of the Company Law.  
(ii) Application of other requirements, in cluding "zoning" requirements, to foreign and 
domestic enterprises on the same basis 
46. The representative asked the United States to e xplain clearly the meaning of "zoning".  
(iii) Permission for majority foreign-owned chain store retailers with more than 30 outlets to 
sell motor vehicles by no later than 11 December 2006  
47. This had been already achieved, as c ould be inferred from Article 16 of the Implementation 
Measures for Administration of Automobile Brand Sales jointly issued by MOFCOM, DRC and SAIC 
in April 2005.   
(f) Franchising – Lengthy examination and appr oval procedures before the registration of 
foreign-invested enterprises engaging in franchising 
48. Foreign-invested enterprises that wished to e ngage in franchising had to apply to the local 
competent commercial departments.  Once their app lication had been approved, they had to undergo 
the procedures for registration or registration of change.  The Chinese Administrative License Law  and 
other applicable laws had clearly defined th e procedures and time limits for the granting 
administrative licenses by administrative authorities, on the basis of the princi ples of efficiency and 
convenience.  The examination and approval regula tions on commercial presence were consistently 
applied in urban and rural districts.  The representa tive explained that she ha d worked in rural areas,  S/C/M/96 
 Page 9 
 
 
  where people were warm and sincere.  She believed that the reasons for the complaint were linked to 
the warmness enjoyed by foreign companies in the rural areas, but said that cities were operating no 
differently, as shown by the presence of some Japanese companies in urban areas. 
4. Telecommunications  
(a) Partnering with Chinese operators in the basic telecommunication sector  
49. China had always respected its WTO commitme nts, and imposed no requirement on foreign 
investors to partner with Chinese operators in the basic telecommunication sector.  In order to better 
protect the interests of investors and consumer s and ensure the healthy development of the 
telecommunication industry, the Measures for Administration of Foreign Invested Telecommunication 
Enterprises contained relevant requirements on major Chinese investors in foreign-invested 
telecommunication enterprises, and these requirements were open.  
50. To date, within the basic telecommunication ser vice sector, no application had been filed to 
establish a telecommunication enterprise by partne ring with non-telecommunication operators.  To 
date, no foreign-invested enterprise or joint vent ure was providing mobile or fixed telephony services 
in China.  
(b) Transparency of telecommunication valued-added services  
51. The Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China , the Measures for 
Regulations of Foreign Invested Telecommunication Enterprises , the Measures  for Administration of 
Business License for Telecommunications  (MIIT Decree No.5) and the Regulations on the 
Administrative License Projects Implemented by the MIIT and the Conditions, Procedures and Terms  
thereof (Batch 1) (MIIT Decree No. 31) contained detailed provisions as to the qualifications and 
procedures to apply for telecommunication business li censes.  All those laws and regulations had been 
officially promulgated and could be accessed on the MIIT website (www.miit.gov.cn).  The application procedures for telecommunication business licenses were open.  In order to facilitate 
investment by EC enterprises in the Chinese te lecommunication value-added service market, the 
MITT had been actively providing relevant policy consultancy services, including the 2009 China-
Europe Information Society Dialogue Mechanism a nd the China-Europe E-commerce Seminar held in 
July 2009.  To date, China had received no complain ts from any foreign enterprise, including EC and 
Japanese ones, with respect to the specific pro cedures to access the Chinese telecommunication value-
added service market.  She invited Members to clearly indicate if they had encountered any 
difficulties and contact the relevant authorities so that they could look into the specific questions. 
(c) Establishment (staffing and authority) of the Telecommunication Regulator  
52. As explained during previous Reviews, the MIIT  was responsible for the surveillance of the 
telecommunication market to ensure that it functioned in an open, fair and just  manner.  As concerned 
the major role and staffing of the MIIT, she referre d delegations to the "Organizational Structure" on 
the MIIT website (www.miit.gov.cn).  
(d) Prohibition of partnering with non-telecommunication operators 
53. China had always complied with its WTO commi tment and imposed no restriction on partners 
or the number thereof.  The statement that "t he number of licenses for basic telecommunication 
services was limited due to the scarcity and avai lability of such scarce resources as frequencies, 
numbers and rights of way" made by China during the previous Transitional Review was an objective 
description of the characteristics of the basi c telecommunication business.  The WTO Reference 
Paper clearly indicated that frequencies, numbers and rights of way were scare resources.  The fixed S/C/M/96 
Page 10  
 
  telecommunication sector possessed the characteris tics of a natural monopoly and relied on such 
scarce resources as frequencies, numbers and rights of way.  Access to this sector was limited by such objective factors as technologies and resources, as was generally recognized internationally.  
54. The MIIT had issued the Emergent Notice on Promoting Co-building and Sharing of 
Telecommunication Infrastructures in October 2008 with the aim of promoting the efficient 
distribution of such scarce resources as sites and channels.  
(e) Process of designation or distribution of 4G spectrum  
55. The Chinese Government had been encouragi ng technological innova tion and supporting its 
spread and application.  China wished for con tinued communication and cooperation between the US 
WiMAX industry and the Chinese industry, to commonly contribute to industrial and technological 
advancement.  
(f) The latest draft of the Telecommunication Law 
56. At present, the Telecommunication Law was at the stage of the State Council Review.  The 
Legal Affairs Office of the State Council was res ponsible for reviewing the draft Telecommunication 
Law.  As per the Chinese legislative process,  after the State Council Review the draft 
Telecommunication Law would be submitted to the Standing Committee of the NPC for Review, and 
upon its approval it would be promulgated as law fo r implementation by the President through an 
executive order.  
(g) The Regulatory Authority's right to periodically update China's "catalogue" of 
telecommunication services under current Chinese regulations 
57. China's definition of telecommunication value-a dded service was consistent with international 
practice.  As the technology and the market deve loped, China would pay close attention to and 
actively track international research on the defin ition of telecommunication value-added service and 
any changes thereto.  
(h) Access of foreign companies' affiliated ente rprises to the Chinese telecommunication market 
58. The amended Measures for Administration of Foreign Invested Telecommunication 
Enterprises  had already significantly decreased the regist ered minimum capital requirement of foreign 
investors proposing to invest in basic telecommunication service by 50 per cent.  
59. In practice, each country determined capital requirements based on its actual circumstances, 
and there were no internationally accepted standards.  China, characterized by a vast area and a large 
population compared to most other countries, require d a much larger scale network to be built, and 
significantly more funds to be invested.  At presen t, the development of the telecommunication sector 
in China was still far behind that of  developed countries, and China f aced a severe digital divide and 
some remote areas were still not covered by the network.   Therefore, at that stage the priority was the 
building of the network, which required important financial inv estments.  The telecommunication 
industry was characterized by capital intensity and economies of scale.  If registered capital 
requirement were set too low, enterprises might have a tendency to withdraw from the industry 
because of various reasons, thus causing damage to the interests of users.  The credit system of China 
was currently being established and the laws and re gulations on consumer protection still had to be 
improved.  Therefore, the registered capital re quirement for enterprises in the telecommunication 
sector would also contribute to prot ection of consumers' interests.   S/C/M/96 
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  60. The minimum registered capital requirement set by  China was an average standard applicable 
to all telecommunication businesses, rather than a separate standard for each individual business.  
(i) The issue of indirect holding limitations 
61. The commitments made by China for telecommu nication services required that the holding 
ratio for foreign investors did not exceed 49 pe r cent for basic telecommunication services, and 
50 per cent for value-added services.  The holding ratio for foreign investors to joint ventures, 
whether in the form of direct or indirect holdings, had to meet those legal requirements. 
62. As of August, 2009, there were 16 foreign-i nvested telecommunication enterprises in total 
conducting cross-provincial operation within China, including joint-ventures established in China by 
world famous enterprises such as Google and MSN.  
5. Computer and related services 
63. With regard to the issue of on-line games pub lication services, the representative noted that 
this had not been committed to in China's WTO schedule and therefore was beyond the scope of the 
Transitional Review.  However, as a matter of courtesy, she clarified that this was a consistent policy 
and that it would not be changed for the time being. 
6. Real estate services 
64. The representative pointed out that, as many Members also recognized, China's real estate 
sector had already been significantly liberalized.  
65. In order to coordinate macroeconomic control and prevent foreign debt risk, the relevant 
departments under the State Council had promulgated the Opinions on Standardizing the Market 
Access and Administration of Foreign Investment in Real Estate Market  (Decree No. 171), the 
Circular on Further Strengthening the Approval an d Regulation of Foreign Direct Investment in Real 
Estate  (Document No. 50) and other re levant regulations.  Those meas ures, which had been prudently 
formulated in light of the practices of most countries and according to the principle of coordinating domestic development with an open policy, cont ained more detailed requirements for foreign 
investment in real estate in terms of approval and filing procedures, the ratio of total investment and 
registered capital, the principles of approval, etc.   Those documents would help familiarise foreign 
investors with Chinese policies for fore ign investment in real estate.  
66. Based on its commitment of gradual opening, China would maintain the continuity and 
stability of its policies for foreign direct investme nt, including those for the real estate sector, and 
would continue to guide and regulate investment in real estate according to the macroeconomic situation.  
7. Advertising services 
67. With regard to the consistency of the regulations on foreign i nvestment in advertising firms 
with China's schedule of commitmen ts, as had been already clearly explained at the previous Review, 
China had enacted and implemented the Advertisement Law , the Regulations on Advertisement 
Administration and their Implementation Rules and other relevant laws, administrative rules and 
regulations with the aim of maintaining a sound an d orderly functioning adve rtising market and of 
protecting the lawful rights and interests of investor s, advertising operators and consumers.  Article 3 
of the Implementation Rules for the Regulations on Advertisement Administration required that 
enterprises applying for advertising business have management familiar with advertising laws and 
regulations, and advertisement d esign, production, editing and exam ination personnel, and that S/C/M/96 
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  enterprises applying for or accepting a commission to  undertake foreign advertisement be capable of 
operating foreign advertisements in China.  Th e aforesaid laws and regulations applied to all 
advertising operators.  
8. Courier services  
(a) Ban in the Postal Law on foreign investment or operation in domestic courier services for 
letters and its consistency w ith China's accession commitments 
68. When it acceded to the WTO, China committed itself to opening up courier services, but 
expressly excluded "services specifically reserved to Chinese postal authorities by law".  In 
accordance with the then Postal Law, China did no t commit on courier services for letters.  The new 
Postal Law was consistent with China's commitmen ts.  The relevant provisions would not affect 
foreign-invested courier enterprises engaging in inte rnational courier service fo r any letters other than 
private letters, and international a nd domestic express services for packages or other articles lawfully 
in China.  Therefore, no new investment and trade barriers had been introduced by China.  Lawful 
courier service provided by foreign-invested enterp rises would continue to be protected by Chinese 
law.  
(b) Definition of a letter  
69. The new Postal Law clearly prescribed the scope  of letters.  The question whether a document 
posted with a package could be a letter should be s ubject to the provisions of the Postal Law.  
(c) Supporting regulations of the Postal Law  
70. For the purpose of facilitating the implementation of the new Postal Law, the Administrative 
Measures for Licensing of Courier Services and other key regulations had been promulgated and 
implemented.  The regulations on the scope of sole  mail services were being researched and drafted.  
Foreign-funded enterprises could continue to provide international courier servi ce for any letters other 
than private letters.  
9. Environmental services  
71. In its questions and comments, Japan had pointed out that the profit rate of its environmental 
firms in China was limited to 10-12%.  The represen tative sought more detail in  this respect before 
offering a reply, as the issue seemed to concern individual firms rather than result from specific 
policies.  She doubted that such policies existed.  
10. Transparency 
72. With regard to providing comments on econo mic and trade laws and regulations, the 
representative explained that, at present, drafts of all administrative regulations by the State Council 
and some regulations formulated by departments under the State Council, except those involving state 
secrets, national security, foreign exchange rates and monetary policy, etc, should be made available 
for public comment through the Comments Collection System for Regulation Drafts  at 
www.chinalaw.gov.cn.  In general, the consulta tion period was 20 days, during which the public 
could give its opinion on the online drafts.  After th e expiry of the consultation period, the Legislative 
Affairs Office of the State Council would analyse the comments on the draft administrative 
regulations of the State Council and decide whether or not to take them on board, and the relevant 
departments under the State Council would collect and analyze comments on draft regulations they had formulated.  China was trying to establish a fe edback mechanism for legislative comments by the 
public, to publicize the collection and adoption of public opinions.   S/C/M/96 
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  73. Since the Comments Collection System for Regulation Drafts  was introduced in June 2007, 
there had been 50 draft administrative regulations an d 43 draft governmental regulations available for 
public comments, of which 22 and 28, resp ectively, concerned service sectors.  
74. With that last answer on transparency, China had replied to almost all the questions raised for 
that meeting.  Her delegation welcomed the fact  that Members had discussed issues concerning trade 
in services within the Transitional Review framework and hoped thereby to remove any 
misunderstandings on China's services trade policies.  
75. The representative of the United States  thanked China for providing responses to the 
extensive set of questions raised and for the efforts put in the Transitional Review.  He firstly replied 
to the clarification China had sought on the ques tion on retail services and the meaning of 'zoning'.  
He explained that, in a general sense, 'zoning' rela ted to the setting aside of certain areas or spaces for 
retail services.  The US question was enquiring wh ether such 'zoning' measures existed that would 
treat foreign and domestic retailers differently.   
76. As for telecommunication services, China had not provided a clear response to the question in 
paragraph 5 of the US paper on resale services.  The question raised two issues, namely the too high 
capitalisation requirements, and the ability for foreig n-affiliated suppliers to provide services on either 
a facilities or resale basis.  With regard to the c hoice of joint-venture partne r, he had taken note of 
China's answer that no applications had b een filed to establish joint-ventures with non 
telecommunication partners, but enquired if the option to  do so was available.  Further, paragraph 7 of 
the US paper noted that the additional requireme nt that basic telecommunications operators be 
controlled by a State-owned enterprise acted as a de facto market access barrier.  If companies had a 
very limited choice of who they could partner wi th, this would represent a significant problem.  
Paragraphs 11 and 12 on satellit e operations and capacity and DT H services had also not been 
answered. 
77. With regard to courier services, the question in paragraph 4(a) had also remained unanswered:  
how were foreign businesses defined under the ex clusion of foreign businesses from the domestic 
letter article market under Article 51?  Did this include Hong Kong companies?  Did this include 
joint-ventures between a foreign and a Chinese company? 
78. Regarding Japan's question on online games, he had taken note of China's response but 
echoed the request to clarify the regulatory appr oval regime for such services, which had created 
some confusion and uncertainty in the Chinese market place.  The lack of clarity had been accentuated 
by the issuing in September of the GAPP circular .  He sought confirmation of the fact that the 
Ministry of Culture was the sole authority responsib le for approval and regulation of on-line games, 
as distinct from physically delivered games, and asked if China could indicate the specific measures that currently governed the on-line games bus iness and what activities they permitted foreign 
suppliers to perform. 
79. The representative of th e European Communities
 thanked China for its responses.  Starting 
with CRS, she said that the answer by China refe rred to two of its commitments under mode 1, but 
had not covered direct access, to which most of th e EC questions were directed.  The new regulation 
on CRS had been under elaboration for the previous  5 years and she sought some indication of the 
timelines on its promulgation.  China had indicated  that no applications had been received from 
foreign airlines' agents, but 19 applications had been submitted to the CAAC which had not been 
answered, neither rejected nor approved, and the i ssue had been raised both bilaterally and in past 
Transitional Reviews, so that she sought information about their status.   
80. With regard to distribution services, she wondered about the status of Order No.38 (1999), 
and about its apparent contradiction with Order No.23 (2006).  She asked the Chinese delegation to S/C/M/96 
Page 14  
 
  confirm if the conditions in Order No.38 (1999) were  still in force or not.  As for distribution services 
over the internet, she had taken note of China's repl y that there was no requirement to have an ICP 
licence if the services were not a third party platfo rm, but this was not reflected in the Chinese 
legislation as far as her delegation was aware, but if it was the case she asked what the legal basis for 
this exception was.  Furthermore, as far as her delegation knew, any company applying for the 
provision of distribution services over the internet w ould have to establish a foreign invested telecom 
enterprise, which involved special requirements, an d she sought confirmation that this was not the 
case. 
81. No answer had been provided by China to the qu estions on real estate services in paragraph 
27 of the EC submission, and she requested further information on the different rules on debt/equity 
ratio for foreign-invested enterprises.  She suppor ted the comments made by the United States with 
respect to telecommunication and construction services, would look at the answers provided and might have more questions in the future. 
82. The representative of Japan
 thanked China for providing answers to the questions raised by 
her delegation, and sought additiona l clarifications with regard to some of them.  With regard to 
construction services and paragraphs  12 and 13 of Japan's submission, she stressed that the foreign 
capital limitation imposed a heavy burden and represente d an important obstacle to trade.  As for the 
question in paragraph 14 on "construc tors", she had taken note of China's reply that there were enough 
"constructors", but indicated that Japanese busines ses in China thought otherwise, and asked how 
their voices could be heard by the competent Chinese authorities.  She also enquired about how many 
foreigners had already obtained the qualification of "constructor".  With respect to the question in 
paragraph 15 on minimum floor requirements, she said that this was within the scope of the 
Transitional Review, that measures taken at the loca l government level also affected trade in services, 
and sought more clarification and explanation abou t the relevance of the measure to the competence 
of the construction companies. 
83. With regard to telecommunication services, she re iterated the questions in paragraphs 7(a), 
(b) and (c) of Japan's submission, and asked in particular if dominant telecom business operators were 
required to establish rules for interconnection and im plement them after receiving permission, and if 
these rules were disclosed to the public consisten tly with the Reference Paper commitments taken by 
China.  With regard to the limitation on foreign cap ital participation, she wished to confirm that she 
had correctly understood China's response that the co mmitments in China's schedule included indirect 
shareholding, as well as direct shareholding.  Finall y, she asked China to provide an explanation of 
the approval process with the MIIT to establish a joint-venture corporation for IT-related or 
telecommunication services, as indicated in paragr aph 10 of her delegation's submission, because 
Japanese firms in China had found it to be lengthy and problematic. 
84. She had taken note that, in reply to Japan's qu estion in paragraph 3 on computer and related 
services, China had indicated that it had undert aken no commitments, but she noted that under 
computer and related services China's schedule co ntained full commitments for modes 1 to 3, and 
hence sought further clarification in this regard.  She also wondered if China's reply that it would not 
change its policy meant that it would ban all foreign investment in online games or that it would not 
change the actual situation and therefore not impos e a ban.  She sought further clarifications with 
regard to the data centre issue and the prohibition of fully-owned subsidiari es, as per paragraph 3 of 
Japan's submission.  Her delegation's understanding was that this had already been announced by the 
GAPP. 
85. Starting with construction services, the representative of China  said that the regulations on 
minimum registered capital requirements applied in same way to domestic and foreign suppliers and 
that no additional restrictions were  placed on foreigners.  Therefore, Japan's assertion in this regard 
was not justified.  With regard to  "constructors", she indicated that foreigners were permitted to obtain  S/C/M/96 
 Page 15 
 
 
  this qualification and that a transitory policy had been introduced that allowed anyone with project 
management qualifications to tempor arily obtain the qualification of "constructor";  she hoped that 
Japanese companies would take advantage of this po licy.  As for the requirement of minimum floor 
areas for offices, she said that China required ente rprises to have a fixed work premise corresponding 
to their business in the relevant area of qualifica tion, and that local governments could introduce more 
detailed requirements to enable the orderly de velopment of the sector and to prevent bogus 
companies.  These requirements were applied in the same manner to domestic and foreign companies, 
and therefore were consistent with national treatment.  She had no information on the number of 
foreign architects that had been granted the "constructor" qualification. 
86. With regard to telecommunication services, she e xplained that China considered resale to be a 
way of doing business, and not a separate service.   Therefore, no separate licence existed and, 
accordingly, no separate minimum capital requireme nt.  As for China's compliance with its 
commitments, she said that th e licence for basic telecommunication services allowed suppliers the 
discretion to decide if they wanted to provide the service on a facilities or resale basis.  With reference 
to the ability of Hong Kong-based satellite operators  to sell satellite capacity, she said that this had 
been granted before China's accession to the WT O.  Concerning the question raised by Japan on 
indirect holding, she reconfirmed that directly or indirectly the holding ratio for foreign investors could not exceed 49 per cent for basic telecommuni cation services and 50 per cent for value-added 
services.  As to Japan's question about how they co uld take issues forward, she indicated that they 
could inform her delegation and that they would then pass on the issues ra ised to the competent 
authorities.  She noted that the approval procedur es for the establishment of joint ventures were 
available on the MIIT's website and stressed that they were in line with China's commitments and 
provided for equal treatment of domestic and forei gn-funded suppliers.  On interconnection rules and 
China's commitments on the Reference Paper, she referred Members to Articles 18-22 of the 
Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China and Articles 7 and 23-26 of the 
Regulations on Public Telecommunication Network Interconnection .  Leading telecom operators were 
required, under the principles of non-discrimination and transparency, to formulate the 
interconnection rules covering the procedures and tim e limits of interconnection, the catalogue of 
unbundling of network elements, etc.  Interconnecti on rules had to be implemented subject to their 
submission to the competent telecom departme nts for approval.  They were binding on 
interconnection activities between leading telecom operators.  The interconn ecting parties had to 
negotiate the interconnection agreement under the prin ciples of amicable cooperation and had to file 
the agreement with the competent telecom departments. 
87. Turning to CRS, she said that once the relevant laws had been formulated, they would be in 
full compliance with China's commitments.  In the meantime, she encour aged foreign CRS to 
technically cooperate with Chinese CRS.  She indi cated that the CAAC was working on the new CRS 
regulations and she believed that these would be  available in the not too distant future. 
88. With regard to distribution services, and the question on Order No.38 (1999), she explained 
that the relevant conditions referred to by the Eu ropean Communities had been  changed and that the 
sector was open as per China's commitments.  Order No.38 also involved the issue of rectifying 
refineries, which was still in force.  Accordingly, only parts of Order No.38 remained valid, and these 
were not those of concern to the European Communities. 
89. As for courier services and the new Postal Law, she explained that all relevant departments 
were working on detailed implementa tion rules.  She could not provide  further detailed information, 
but suggested that any specific questions might like to be addressed with the relevant capital-based 
experts after the meeting. 
90. By way of general remark, she indicated that, as she had mentioned at the outset, the Chinese 
government was aware of the importance of services and services trade for structural reform and job S/C/M/96 
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  creation, and was progressively opening up this sector based on the commitments undertaken in the 
WTO.  However, China was still a developing countr y, China's services trade was far from developed, 
due to the late start, and China was still at a lear ning and exploration stage.  Services were closely 
related to employment and to people's livelihoods.  Therefore liberalisation had to be formulated 
through practical and feasible policies to reflect Chin a's current development stage.  The liberalisation 
process could not be rushed, and had to take in to due account actual conditions.  She hoped that no 
double standards would be applied in this area, a nd that other Members would also liberalise their 
own services markets, so that all coul d jointly promote free services trade. 
91. The representative of Japan
 thanked China for its additional replies, but sought further 
clarification with respect to four elements.  First, as for China's invitation to pass on specific concerns, 
she said that, as indicated in paragraph 10 of its submission, Japanese suppliers in China had reported 
that, in order to set up a joint-venture for IT-re lated or telecommunication services, a recommendation 
from the MIIT was necessary and that this was very difficult to obtain.  This was an example of an 
actual difficulty encountered.  Second, she reiterated the request in paragraph 7(b) for information on 
the name of the law and specific article number that obliged operators to disclose interconnection 
rules.  Third, she indicated that her delegation wished to pursue the discussion on indirect 
shareholding.  Fourth, the question in paragraph 3 on computer and related services had not been fully 
responded to and her delega tion would welcome additional informa tion.  If not, her delegation would 
take it for granted that China's full commitments for modes 1 to 3 on computer and related services 
would be respected. 
92. The representative of Canada  said that, in accordance with Annex 1A of the Protocol on the 
Accession of the People's Republic of China, China was required to provide, under paragraphs 5(a), 
"regularly updated lists of all laws, regulations, administrative gui delines and other measures affecting 
trade in each service sector or sub-sector indicating, in each case, the service sector(s) or sub-sector(s) 
they applied to, the date of publication and the date  of entry into force", and, under paragraph 5(c), 
"regularly updated lists of the authorities, at all levels of government (inc luding organisations with 
delegated authority) which were responsible fo r the adoption, implementation and reception of 
appeals for laws, regulations, administrative gui delines and other measures affecting trade in 
services".  
93. The information requested in those two ar eas was not limited to only those service sectors 
where commitments had been undertaken by China.  Accordingly, and given Canada's interest in 
China's service regime, she requested that China provi de information relating to all services sectors in 
these areas, including computer and related services, research and development services, other 
business services such as services related to manage ment consulting, services incidental to mining, 
services incidental to manufacturing and services inci dental to energy distribution.  These were just 
some of the sectors for which more information was being sought, there were additional ones her 
delegation was interested in, and the rele vant information would be appreciated. 
94. Replying to the question by Japan on on- line games, the representative of China  noted that the 
issue was beyond the scope of the Transitional Review, added that foreign investment in this area was 
not allowed and offered to discuss the issue after the meeting.  She also stressed that, for the future, 
questions that fell outside the scope of the Review should not be raised in the discussion and that her 
delegations' replies at the meeting had been provided out of courtesy. 
95. The Chairperson  thanked China for its responses, reca lled that capital-based experts were 
present and that additional questions could be discu ssed with them after the meeting, and proposed 
that the Council take note of the statements made and consider China’s Transitional Review 
concluded.   
96. The Council so decided .  S/C/M/96 
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  97. Regarding the report to the General Council, the Chairperson  suggested that the Secretariat 
prepare the report in accordance with previous practice.   It would be a factual report, stating basically 
that:  at its meeting on 5 November 2009, the Counc il for Trade in Services had conducted the Eight 
Transitional Review of the Implementation by Ch ina of its WTO Agreement and of the related 
provisions of the Protocol, pursuant to Section 18 of the Protocol of Accession of the People's 
Republic of China;  written communications had b een submitted before the meeting by the European 
Communities, Japan and the United States;  a deta iled account of the discussion during the meeting 
could be found in the meeting report, whic h would be issued in document S/C/M/96. 
98. The Council so decided .  
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
99. The Chairperson  recalled that the Council had agreed that it would not address sectoral and 
modal discussions at that meeting,  but rather revert to them at its first meeting of 2010, which was 
tentatively scheduled for February.  Accordingly, at its next meeting, under that agenda item, the 
Council would address the following topics:  audiovisual services;  energy services;  and mode 3.  For those topics, the following organisations, which we re not observers to the Council, had produced 
relevant and interesting work that they could helpfully share with Members:  the OECD, UNESCO 
and the Energy Charter Secretariat.  In line with pr eviously adopted practice, he would invite them to 
the Council's next meeting to offer their contributions. 
100. The representative of Switzerland
 asked that the item dealing with "Compliance with GATS 
notification requirements" be placed back on the ag enda of the next meeting of the Council.   
101. A representative of the Secretariat  informed Members that an updated compilation of enquiry 
and contact points, contained in documents S/ENQ/78/Rev.11 and Corr.1, had been recently issued.  
He also recalled a previous announcement that an e-training course on the GATS had been held from 
21 September to 30 October 2009.  The course had received very positive feedback, and a second one 
would be conducted from 25 January  to 19 March 2010.  The ITTC e-training unit would be sending 
out an official notification of registration for th e course to all missions, but an on-line registration 
form could also be found at https://etraining.wto. org, from 17 November 2009 to 11 January 2010.  At 
the end of the course, successful participants w ould obtain an e-training certificate, which would 
qualify them to attend more advanced activities.  This would increasingly be a pre-requisite of WTO 
technical assistance.  The feedb ack that the Secretariat had rece ived from the course conducted in 
September was excellent.  120 partic ipants had attended the course and,  of those, 94 had completed it 
successfully, which corresponded to a 78% success rate.  The Secretaria t had also received feedback 
from participants which would allow to improve th e course material and evaluation exercises.  Should 
delegations have any further questions about the GA TS e-training course, he invited them to contact 
Hoe Lim, who was the focal point for the course in the Services Division.  
102. The meeting was adjourned .  
__________