Responsible Person from the Department of International Trade and Economic Affai

Responsible Person from the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce Answers the Questions of a Reporter on the Agreement on Free Trade Area and Trade in Services Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Q: Would you please briefly introduce the negotiation process of the Agreement on Free Trade Area and Trade in Services Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan?

A: The representatives signed the Agreement on Free Trade Area and Trade in Services Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan respectively on behalf of the two governments as the important economic and trade achievement of President Asif Ali Zardari while paying a state visit to China. In November 2006, during the visit of President Hu Jintao in Pakistan, China and Pakistan signed China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (mainly including trade in goods and investment cooperation) and declared to kick off the negotiation of the agreement of trade in service. Thereafter, the two nations, based on the negotiation principle of overall balance and mutual benefit and win-win, went through five-round negotiations in two years and reached the agreement on the content of the agreement of trade in services and specific commitments to opening of service sectors in December 2008, with the negotiation completed successfully. On February 21, 2009, at the joint witness of Dai Bingguo, member of the State Council and Pakistan President Zardari, Chen Jian, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce and Ahmed Shah Massoud, ambassador of Pakistan to China signed the Agreement.

Q: Would you please briefly introduce the main content of the Agreement on Free Trade Area and Trade in Services Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan? And when shall the Agreement take effect?

A: The Agreement on Free Trade Area and Trade in Services Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the legal document according to which China and Pakistan, based on the commitments to WTO, mutually further open service markets, facilitate the exchange and cooperation of service industries and handle with the relevant issues of trade in services. The Agreement includes 25 articles in the body and 2 annexes. The body is divided into 4 sections including definition and scope, duties and disciplines, specific commitments and others. The two annexes are respectively the Chinese and Parkistanese specific commitments to service opening. After both parties perform their related domestic procedures, the Agreement is expected to take effect in the first half of 2009.

Q: What opening commitments are in the Agreement on Free Trade Area and Trade in Services Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan? What benefits can the service suppliers of the two nations from it?

A: The Agreement on Free Trade Area and Trade in Services Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is, so far, the agreement on free trade area and trade in services of China and Pakistan each having the highest-level of opening up to the outside world and the richest content. The two nations will, based on the commitments to WTO, mutually further open service markets, offer the opportunities of market access and preferential treatments and create better conditions for service suppliers of the two nations in strengthening cooperation and exchange. Specifically speaking: