From the China Business News

With the Doha talks stuck in "sudden gridlock" for over a month, director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Pascal Lamy said in Shanghai that all sides are expected to respond positively after mid-October.

Sept. 4, WTO chief Pascal Lamy met with Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai in Beijing. Lamy's tour of Beijing is reported to be a mediation effort aimed at resuming the Doha Talks as soon as possible.

Sept. 3, Pascal Lamy was interviewed by the "China Business News" during a layover in Shanghai. During the interview, he said he would stay in China for roughly a week and hold discussions with Chinese leaders on the role China should play in the Doha talks.

According to Lamy, China–like the US, the EU, India and South Africa–is open in some areas and conservative in others. For instance, the Chinese government has taken active measures in environmental protection and industrial products but is comparatively conservative in market access policies for agricultural products. Lamy believes this conservative approach needs to be changed.

"The attitude adopted by the Chinese government is beneficial for itself. In addition, the Chinese government should set examples for the governments of other countries," said Lamy. "To some people, however, the Chinese government should speak louder. Despite this, China is fulfilling its commitments in its own way. Perhaps, other member countries will learn this way sometime in the future."

According to a source close to Lamy, his visit was low-profile. Aside from his presence at the forum and a few other commercial activities, the main objective of his visit was to meet with Bo Xilai, the head of the Ministry of Commerce, and other senior leaders to "canvas" China to step up the Doha talks.

According to Lamy, suspending the talks is a tactic he adopted as WTO director general. He used this tactic to ensure all parties involved in the talks have time to ponder related issues and create sufficient political strength to create an excellent environment for negotiation. He believes that this "pause" will create an opportunity to reach consensus over agricultural subsidies and market access.

"I personally believe that all the parties will make positive responses by mid October," Lamy stated. "During the past month since the suspension of the talks, we have received excellent signals, indicating that all member countries hope to continue this game. These signals are not loud but necessary."

Before Lamy's visit, US trade representative Susan Schwab visited China. During her visit, she met with Bo Xilai. and expressed her hope that both sides could work together to get the Doha round running, but denounced China for insufficient efforts in the talks.

Analysts note that major beneficiaries of the Doha talks – such as China and other East Asian countries – have remained low-profile throughout the process. This is linked to the demands forwarded by the US, the EU and other countries that developing nations open their markets wider.. The demand has resulted in a huge amount of pressure falling on developing countries.

Following the visit, Lamy will embark on another mediation tour to Brazil. Between Sept. 9 and 10, the G20 will hold a ministerial conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to discuss how to save the Doha talks.