BEIJING, Dec 10: China’s industries will see widely divergent impacts, ranging from near-disastrous to very positive, after the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization, analysts expect.

China will become the 143rd member of the global trade body on Tuesday, 30 days after it signed a membership agreement at a WTO meeting in Qatar.

Below is a list of industries expected to be fundamentally changed by China’s accession:

China’s farmers have widely been named the big losers of the country’s entry into the WTO.

Once called a success story, they have fallen hopelessly behind and have few chances against the more efficient production methods of their foreign competitors.

Although the full impact of membership will not be felt during the first several years, it will eventually kick in.

In one example among many, the tariff on imported beef and poultry will fall from 31 per cent to 14 per cent, forcing the country’s inefficient producers to compete with cheaper imports.

The impact will be that much greater because China is still a predominantly agricultural country and has 900 million farmers.

Analysts hope, although they are by no means certain, that the service sector will be able to expand much of this idle labor.

Steel makers, which have benefited for years from government protection and high prices at home, are also expected to face formidable challenges once in the WTO.

Steel producers, like many other state-owned enterprises, are leftovers from the planned economy, struggling with a bloated workforce and fossilized management practices.

China has agreed to cut the import tariff for automobiles to 25 per cent from currently as much as 80 per cent over the first six years after accession.

As early as January 1, the first step will be taken as duties on cars of more than 3,000cc will be reduced to 50.7 per cent from 80 per cent and to 43.8 per cent from 70 per cent for cars of less than 3,000cc.

The impact on China’s own auto industry will be limited, however, since the top foreign brands are already present in the country as they have set up joint ventures with local partners.

Tariff rates on auto parts, which are currently as high as 70 per cent, will eventually fall to an average of 10 per cent.

China’s telecommunications industry, still bloated by decades of government pampering, is in for a major overhaul, analysts say.

China will allow increased foreign participation in value-added telecommunications services, which significantly includes the sensitive Internet area.

According to Chinese concessions, foreign investments in Internet service and content providers will initially be capped at 30 per cent but will rise to 50 per cent after just two years.

Also two years after Chinese entry into the WTO, existing geographic limitations will also be removed, allowing foreign investment throughout the country.

The financial sector, which includes sensitive areas such as banks and insurance businesses, is unlikely to see any immediate major changes after WTO entry.

This is because China’s government, only too aware of the need to protect the financial system which forms the backbone for the rest of the economy, has deliberately negotiated a gradual opening-up.—AFP