Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai (file photo)

    BEIJING, June 3 -- China will work with all World Trade Organization (WTO) members to conclude the current round of Doha global trade talks by year's end as scheduled, Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai said on Friday.

    "We expect the talks to yield active and balanced results so as to create an equal, just and non-prejudiced multilateral trade system across the world."

    Bo made the comment at a meeting of 21 trade ministers from Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Organization (APEC) members in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

    The ministers had gathered to focus on how to jump-start the Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations, which have been bogged down in disagreements over tariffs and subsidies.

    "Urgent action is needed to drive the process," particularly in the areas of market access in agriculture negotiations, according to a joint statement released by the ministers at the end of the two-day meeting.

    They urged WTO members scheduled to meet in Geneva this month to reach an agreement on formulas for tariffs and subsidies by the end of June.

    The timing is at a critical stage after WTO members missed a key deadline in April that would have set up a conclusion to the Doha talks by the end of the year.

    Bo said agriculture is central to this round of trade talks and it is critical for developing countries to access global markets.

    He called on the United States and the European Union to provide a tangible cut in subsidies to break the deadlock on agriculture.

    Further, Bo said, all parties should offer special treatment to some specific products for the sake of rural livelihoods in developing countries.

    "The formula to calculate the way of reducing tariffs should be given priority in talks for non-agricultural products because it is the foundation of the talks," he said.

    He urged all economies to fulfil commitments made in a conference held in Hong Kong last December to offer special treatment to developing countries, in particular the least developed ones.

    (Source: China Daily)