TEXT: STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CLINTON, PREMIER ZHU ON AGRICULTURE
(Glickman calls cooperation agreement a "breakthrough")

Washington -- President Bill Clinton and Premier Zhu Rongji, in a joint statement issued April 10, said the Agreement on U.S.-China Agricultural Cooperation has advanced substantially their common goal of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In a related statement on the agricultural cooperation agreement, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman said: "This agreement is a fundamental breakthrough for American agriculture. Over the years, we estimate that China's sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions have cost America's competitive producers billions of dollars in sales. China's agreement to lift these longstanding and contentious barriers to our grain, citrus, and meat could have significant benefits, permitting greatly expanded exports of these products to China's vast market. This agreement will also help many American farmers during a period of extreme economic stress."

Following is the White House text, released April 10:

(begin text)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
April 10, 1999

JOINT STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON AND PREMIER ZHU RONGJI

On the occasion of the signing of the Agreement on U.S. China Agricultural Cooperation, President Bill Clinton and Premier Zhu Rongji reaffirmed that the United States and the People's Republic of China have advanced substantially their common goal of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). This Agreement and the significant consensus achieved on a broad range of market access and Protocol issues have further advanced that goal. President Clinton and Premier Zhu welcome this significant progress. The United States strongly supports the accession of the People's Republic of China to the WTO in 1999. Therefore, President Clinton and Premier Zhu instruct their trade ministers to continue bilateral negotiations in order to satisfactorily resolve the important remaining issues and reach agreement on strong commercial terms as soon as possible.

(end text)

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