(Adds comments from China commerce minister)
BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Ministers have made progress towards unblocking the World Trade Organisation's Doha round of market-opening talks, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said on Thursday.
But despite progress since a failed ministerial meeting in Geneva in July, Schwab told reporters the jury was still out as to whether ministers would reconvene at the WTO headquarters this month to try to agree the outline of a deal.
"We've seen some progress in Geneva in areas that really hung us up in July. That's really, really positive," Schwab said. But she added: "There still are multiple outstanding issues."
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy will decide in a few days whether to call a meeting to try to clinch a framework deal -- known as the "modalities" in the jargon of the long-running talks, which were launched in the Qatari capital in 2001 [ID:nL3202362].
"The WTO secretariat tells us that some time at the end of this week or beginning of next week we're likely to see new texts in agriculture and in non-agricultural market access. That will tell us a great deal about how big the gaps are on these issues," Schwab said.
Schwab is one of several cabinet ministers participating in the fifth round of the Sino-American Strategic Economic Dialogue.
"But recognise that a modalities agreement would simply be a next major step forward in a negotiation that would likely last at least a year after those sets of parameters are established," she cautioned.
China's foreign ministry spokesman expressed reservations on Thursday whether a framework deal could be reached before the end of the year.
"As it appears at this moment, it seems very difficult to complete the Doha round before year-end,"Liu Jianchao told reporters at a regular briefing. [ID:nPEK93822]
But China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming gave a strong pledge of support to move the talks forward, provided the United States addresses the concerns of developing countries.
"We both decided to push the Doha round to reach some agreement before the end of the year," Chen said at a press briefing on the sidelines of the Sino-U.S. meetings. (Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Writing by Alan Wheatley, Editing by Jacqueline Wong/Ruth Pitchford)