Participants in the Doha world trade talks are preparing for a final deal but there is no point setting an artificial deadline, the head of the WTO told a German daily.

The Doha talks, launched in late 2001, aim to break down barriers to global commerce but are deadlocked, largely over differences between the US and the big emerging economies of China, Brazil and India, said a report in our sister newspaper, the Gulf Daily News.

In a sign of the bleak prospects for a Doha deal any time soon, G20 leaders dropped their reference to 2010 as a target date for completion of the talks and set no new date.

WTO director-general Pascal Lamy was optimistic, however, telling Handelsblatt it was the first time the G20 had had "substantial discussions" on the world trade talks.

"The focus of the G20 was world trade and the economic crisis, and everyone agreed that trade should not become a victim of the crisis," he was quoted as saying.

"Participants are preparing for the end game of the world trade talks. There is no point setting artificial deadlines."

Member countries have accused one another of not putting enough on the table, and of seeking too much in return.

The US ambassador to the WTO said the talks were stuck because of a refusal by China and other big emerging economies to open their markets.

Lamy said China was abiding by the rules, adding that debates over statistical trade surpluses - also with regard to Germany's reliance on exports - were artificial and irrelevant. – TradeArabia News Service