Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and U.S. President Bill Clinton issued a joint statement on China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Washington DC on April 10, 1999, stressing the importance of continued efforts by China and the U.S. toward China's early WTO entry.

The statement said Premier Zhu and President Clinton reaffirmed that the United States and China have advanced substantially their common goal of China's accession to the WTO.

"This Agreement and the significant consensus achieved on a board range of market access and Protocol issues have further advanced that goal," it said, "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," the statement noted.

Therefore, it said, Premier Zhu and President Clinton have instructed 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."