In addition, the assistance of U.S. companies is vital to China's own modernization efforts. The WTO President Clinton has repeatedly stated U.S. support for China's accession to the WTO on the basis of commercially viable commitments. On the basis of the roadmap and our discussions, we hope China can better determine whether it intends to move forward. If it is prepared to do so, then we can turn to the next step of determining how best to achieve compliance with each WTO obligation. Any accession negotiation is detailed and complex.
China is no exception.
Together with our partners in Geneva we have been working with China to develop a protocol package. Simply put, that means specific commitments about how China will bring its regime in line with international norms. In addition, China needs to make specific commitments to open its market for goods and services, much like other countries did in the Uruguay Round. The pace of progress depends in large measure on China. We have emphasized repeatedly that the negotiations are not helped by Chinese actions to replace new barriers with impediments that have been removed.