China's long march into WTO

China's formal accession to the WTO, agreed at a meeting of the trade body on December 11, 2001, ends an arduous 15-year process which began when the organisation was known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT):

July 1986:China, a founding member of GATT in 1947, asks to be readmitted to the organization it left after the the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

October 1987:First meeting of the working group charged with examining Beijing's bid for accession to the WTO at its headquarters in Geneva.

December 1994:China fails to become part of GATT before the target date of January 1, 1995 set for being a founding member of the WTO.

May 1995:China opens discussions with the new WTO. Thirty-seven countries also ask to hold bilateral negotiations with China, including Japan, the United States and the European Union, China's top trading partners.

July 1995:China attains status of observer.

March 1999:Prime Minister Zhu Rongji revives the process by announcing China is ready to grant greater concessions to the US to gain WTO entry.

April 1999:Washington rejects the concessions made by Zhu during a visit to the US.

May 1999:Bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by NATO. China freezes negotiations with the US and the EU.

July 1999:China agrees the terms of its WTO accession with Japan during a visit to Beijing by then-prime minister Keizo Obuchi.

September 1999:Resumption of Sino-US negotiations after a summit between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and US President Bill Clinton in New Zealand.

November 1999:US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky reaches a bilateral agreement with China on its WTO membership.

May 2000:China and the EU finally agree a bilateral trade deal after five days of talks.

2001

June 9:China and the US announce they have reached an agreement on details of Beijing's WTO accession, as Beijing agrees to a lower limit on farm subsidies.

June 20:The EU says it has reached an agreement with China overcoming differences in areas such as telecommunications, removing one of the final remaining obstacles for the bid.

September 13:China and Mexico conclude bilateral negotiations on China's entry to the WTO, completing the 37th and final such accord needed before Beijing can join the global trading body.

September 17:China and its major trading partners reach a formal agreement on the Asian giant's WTO membership.

November 10:China is officially accepted as a WTO member. A meeting of 142 WTO members in Qatar accepts by consensus a proposal for China to join the organisation. Chinese officials deposit articles of ratification signed by President Jiang Zemin with the WTO secretariat immediately after the decision.

November 11:Chinese Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng signs the agreement papers.

December 11:After an agreed 30-day waiting period, China's WTO membership is due to come into effect.