The president of AT&T, America’s biggest telecoms company, has called upon China to make it easier for foreign firms to participate in its telecoms sector, the Financial Times reported. Forrest Miller praised the large steps China is taking as part of WTO accession but noted that “there have been restrictive shifts as well”. His remarks, which have been described as a bid to put pressure on Beijing to grant AT&T contracts before the 2008 Olympics, reflect the frustration felt by foreign corporations in trying to get access to the China telecoms and media market. AT&T entered into a joint venture with a Shanghai-based subsidiary of China Telecom in 2000 but the company is said to be unhappy about the geographical limitations on its business. It’s China business grew 44% year-on-year in 2005, four times the average for Asia-Pacific.
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