China said it had no regime for export subsidies for agricultural products. China said it made good progress in its negotiations on trade in services. There were already 150 foreign banks operating in China. Yet questions still persist as to when China could accede to the WTO and whether it would accede as a developing or developed country. Questions of when a country can join and under which terms are an inherent part of the negotiation.
China also has a dubious reputation as a hotbed of corruption.
News of the contraband traffic came after China was flooded with smuggled goods during the 1997-1999 Asian economic crisis. Hong Kong, accorded Special Administr-ative Region status after the former British colony's handover to China in July 1997, has enjoyed an entrepot position with global trading partners since before the turn of the century. Belinda Chow, assistant manager of Research Information Services at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council says that China and what she brackets as 'the Arabian countries' are major trading partners. Taiwan, meanwhile, has a more fractious relationship with China. Despite the ongoing excoriation of its political leaders, Taiwan's extensive range of industries makes it the second largest foreign investor in mainland China, Malaysia and Vietnam.