TIANJIN: Participants of the 2002 BusinessWeek Forum in Tianjin yesterday agreed China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will unleash prosperity for global business.

"It will create a much more efficient and productive Chinese economy and a much better Chinese economic environment for businesses of all nations if all the important commitments in the Chinese WTO accession documents are fully realized," said Robert A. Kapp, president of the United States-China Business Council.

Noting that many new business opportunities will arise, Kapp said the prospect for the Sino-US co-operation in the service industry is "very good," although it will be a gradual process.

"The fact is China is too big and complex for the international service sector to walk into China and do it all by itself," he said. "It's going to be a co-operative process and, in many cases, foreigners will have a great deal to offer."

He added smarter Chinese organizations will be flexible, and learn from and adapt to challenges from foreign companies.

He said the common interests of both sides will be realized through working together to continuously increase business.

Kapp said there is clearly a growing interest among American manufacturers in establishing their operations in China to serve the Chinese and international markets.

His views were shared by Chandru Rajam, chief knowledge officer of Hong Kong-based dnmStrategies Limited, a partner of BusinessWeek magazine and a producer of high-level business conferences aimed at senior executives.

"China's accession to the global trade club has changed strategic calculations for a number of companies within and outside China," said Rajam.

"Any company in the industry that imports a lot of raw materials or components from other countries will now be free of import duties and, therefore, reduce their cost of production within China.

"Looking at it from the perspective of foreign companies who have a network of manufacturing operations around the world, it makes sense for them to locate their production operations in a place like China after its WTO accession."

Both Kapp and Rajam were participants of the 2002 BusinessWeek Forum.

The forum attracted nearly 250 political and business leaders worldwide to explore further business opportunities in China in a post-WTO accession era.

Vice-Premier Li Lanqing yesterday said all work related to China's accession to the WTO is well under way.

Li said China is confident and capable of maintaining the fast growth of its national economy.

A peaceful and stable international environment is needed for the steady growth of the global economy, Li said.

International competition should be integrated with co-operation to seek a win-win situation, he added.

"The US-Chinese relationship is one of the most important bilateral relations in the world," said George Bush, former US president, who participated in the forum.