WTO ball in emerging economies' court

China and other developing nations must show more negotiating ambition if long-running global trade talks are to succeed, European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said yesterday.

Mr Mandelson deflected criticism at the weekend by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that the EU was making too many concessions on farm trade, saying he did not feel his hands were tied in the talks.

"The constraint on me is what others among the emerging economies are prepared to do in industrial goods - in non-agricultural market access," Mr Mandelson said.

"If their apparently low level of ambition continues, it's going to make my position as Europe's negotiator quite hard." He said he would do his utmost to prepare for a possible meeting of World Trade Organisation ministers in April.

The putative gathering is being billed as yet another last chance to make a breakthrough in the Doha round of market-opening talks, which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.

"But Europe needs greater engagement among its negotiating partners," said Mr Mandelson, who was wrapping up three days of talks in Beijing. He said he had been encouraged by the position China had taken on lowering barriers to trade in industrial goods and services as well as on trading rules. However, it remained defensive on agriculture.