The possibility of the phrase being included in the draft for APEC contributions to the WTO had added some momentum to recent hopes that Taiwan and China might enter the world trade body by the end of the year. In the end, however, the phrase was watered down to express support for the early entrance of all non-WTO, APEC members, the official said. The statement varies very little from APEC's position in the past, APEC delegates said. An official told Reuters that they had agreed to change the draft after objections by both Chinese and Taiwanese diplomats, who feared their own countries' positions would be compromised by the recommendation. China said that the wording should be changed to make clear that Taipei could only join the WTO after Beijing.
Phrases come in and they come out.
Some suspected the change was the result of pressure exerted on the SOM leaders by China which objected to the inclusion of Chinese Taipei together with China in the official statement. China insists that it must enter the trade body before Taiwan. Before the note had been given to the head of the SOM, no strong demands had been made to have the phrase removed, the official said. The official did not know the content of the note. APEC is not suitable to represent the WTO in making any specific decision.