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The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, said today (May 19):
"I am delighted that agreement has been reached between China and the European Union on the Mainland's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This agreement brings Mainland's WTO accession process one step closer to completion.
"Next week, the US Congress will start to vote on the legislation to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status to China. After our visit to the United States in April, colleagues here and in Washington have continued to put Hong Kong's case for PNTR legislation to be approved. We will continue these efforts in the hope that the House of Representatives will approve the legislation next week.
"Mainland's accession to WTO will bring tremendous new business opportunities to Hong Kong, Asia and the global economy. We hope this will come to fruition at an early date."
End/Friday, May 19, 2000
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