Taiwan and China's bids to join the WTO are on track to be approved in November when the group holds a ministerial-level meeting in Qatar, a US official said on Thursday.
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said that as the process is moving along in a very constructive way, there certainly is a real prospect of this happening at the Nov. 9-13 WTO meeting in Doha, Qatar.
According to US officials, even if admission for both is approved in November, actual accession is not expected to happen until January 2002, as the legislatures of Taiwan and China will first have to formally consent to the conditions attached to admission.
Vice Economics Minister Chen Ruey-long (陳瑞隆) said Wednesday that he expects a WTO working group will approve Taiwan's paperwork on its membership Sept. 14 in Geneva, one day after Beijing has gone through the same process.
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