China supports Russia's bid for membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and hopes for its accession into the alliance at an early date, a senior official of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Monday.

The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are important representatives of the world's emerging markets, Yu Jianhua, director general of the international department of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.

China, India and Brazil are also core participants of the Doha round of global trade talks, Yu told a briefing one day before a meeting of the BRIC leaders in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

China completed its talks on bilateral market access with Russia as early as 2004 and hopes that Russia will enter the WTO as soon as possible, Yu said.

Russia, which has been seeking WTO membership for more than 15 years, is the largest economy still outside the global trade watchdog.

When asked about a question related to trade protectionism, Yu said China, India and Brazil were all victims of the protection policy taken by developed countries. "Therefore, the BRICs enjoy a common stance on this issue."

At the G20 summit in London in April, the BRICs together with some other participating states agreed to jointly resist trade protectionism, Yu said, adding that the parties concerned are now fulfilling the consensus reached at the London summit.

Trade disputes within the BRICs remain, but they will address this through negotiations so as to further trade and economic development, Yu said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2009)