No deal in China talks with EU

The EU wants China's markets opened for its products

Talks between the European Union and China on Beijing's bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have ended without agreement.

The European Commission said progress had been made in the talks but agreement had not been "fully reached" on some issues.

The Commission would not say in which areas agreement had or had not been reached.

The EU is the last remaining economic bloc that has yet to sign a WTO trade deal with China.

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy's participation in the talks in Beijing had raised hopes of a breakthrough.

However, Commission spokesman Jonathan Faull said the talks had "for the time being ended" and Commissioner Lamy was on his way back to Brussels.

"This is a process. It is a process which is advancing. The Chinese have invited Mr Lamy to return to Beijing. No date has been fixed for a subsequent meeting," he said.

Mr Lamy will report to the 15 EU member states on the progress made in the talks. "We will take things forward from there," Mr Faull said.

The last round of talks between the EU and China broke down in February.

A better deal

Under WTO rules, all existing members must agree to admit a new member - and have the right to negotiate "market-opening" agreements to allow access for their exports.

The European Union had hoped to force China to improve on its market-opening concessions made to the United States in November in return for US backing for China's WTO bid.

The EU wants to ensure that it receives better access for up to 100 products, ranging from whisky to cheese, in Chinese markets.

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy's participation raised hopes of a deal

It also wants to improve on the terms for foreign investment in telecoms and insurance agreed between the United States and China.

Under that deal, China said it would only allow up to 50% foreign investment in these "sensitive" sectors - but the EU wants its companies to be able to have a majority stake.

If it succeeds in gaining entry to the WTO, China will have access to Western markets. The country's rapid economic growth in the last 20 years has depended on the success of its exports, and the country is now the world's tenth largest exporter.

While the EU is the last big trading bloc that the China needs to reach agreement with, it still has outstanding deals to agree with other countries including Malaysia, Switzerland and Mexico.