China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) granted licenses on March 30 to four Chinese companies to provide Internet protocol (IP) telephony. The four companies are China Telecom, China Unicom, Jitong Communications and China Netcom. The first three underwent a six-month trial phase in 1999, while China Netcom only began selling IP phone cards in mid-November last year. The Telecommunications Administration Bureau (TAB) of MII announced that one more IP telephony license is being reserved for China Mobile, the wireless communications arm of the former China Telecom conglomerate. China Mobile plans to offer IP telephony by using wireless application protocol (WAP) technology and should be able to begin operations once it finalizes its application process next month. National Security Advisor Underscores Importance of Sino-American Bilateral Relationship U.S. National Security Advisor Sandy Berger was in Beijing the last week of March for two days of talks with senior Chinese leaders. Berger met with President Jiang Zemin and his senior advisors, underlining the strong desire on the part of the United States to further advance the bilateral relationship. Discussion topics included nonproliferation, arms control, human rights and trade. Berger was accompanied on his trip by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Stanley Roth. Commerce Secretary Promotes Trade with China U.S. Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley was in Beijing the first week of April to conduct the April 6 plenary meeting of the 13th U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC). During his visit, Secretary Daley met with senior Chinese officials to discuss issues including the upcoming vote in the U.S. Congress on granting China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status, and the deployment of code division multiple access (CDMA) networks in China. Daley also delivered a keynote address on e-commerce at the Fourth China International Electronic Commerce Summit, jointly sponsored by the MII, State Economic & Trade Commission and other Chinese government institutions. Finally, Daley announced he would return to China in just a week's time with a delegation of U.S. congressional leaders. These individuals are still undecided on the PNTR issue. Secretary Daley will use this trip as an opportunity to show how much China is changing, and that the U.S. will benefit most by having China adhere to global rules in the WTO as it continues its economic progress. TIA Home | Industry Beat | TIA Press Releases | Subscribe | Past Issues Letter from the President | Inside Washington | TIA Around the Globe | Small Company Focus Trade Shows and Marketing Opportunities | Standards Update | Member Spotlight New TIA Members | Member News | Market Forecast | Calendar of Events | PulseOnline Home Contact Us: Rali Mileva rmileva@tia.eia.org or Melanie Phung mphung@tia.eia.org