Brussels, 17/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - In the face of persistent unfair trading practices by China, ranging from investment restrictions to barriers to public procurement, subsidies and state aid and uneven protection of intellectual property rights EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will be defending EU interests at the annual EU-China Summit in Tianjin on 25 October.
“I am worried when I read that European companies fear retaliation in China. This is disconcerting and must be addressed, by us in our dialogue with China and, of course, by China itself”, commented the commissioner at the unveiling of a BusinessEurope report on 14 October on challenges and opportunities for the EU's trade policy. BusinessEurope's leader, Jürgen Thumann, called on the EU to seize all means of applying pressure on China to get it to reduce its subsidies and restrictions on European investment, particularly in public procurement. De Gucht said that many issues raised in the report would be centre stage at the summit. Along with concerns shared by the commissioner, like meeting WTO rules, the application of competition law, access to the market, intellectual property and access to raw materials, including rare earths, BusinessEurope is unhappy about the threat of reprisals in the form of extra administrative charges, intimidation and harassment against EU companies complaining about unfair Chinese practices.
Commenting on the question of an EU-China investment deal, De Gucht said: “We need to be fully convinced that this would provide real value-added for European companies, both in terms of access to Chinese markets and in the way their investments are treated in China”. On public procurement, the commissioner said the EU was prepared to change its rules to restrict access to its markets for trade partners which refused to open up their own markets to European companies (reciprocal arrangements have been promised for December), and said that China should sign up to the WTO's public procurement agreement. On subsidies to Chinese state companies, De Gucht said China should enter dialogue with the WTO. (EH/transl.fl)