Brussels, 08/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the annual meeting of the EU-China Joint Trade Committee in Brussels on Wednesday 7 October, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and China's Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng took stock of the bilateral talks for an investment agreement. Malmström particularly underlined the EU's demands on market access.
“Following my meeting with Minister Gao today, we are getting clarity as regards the scope of our future deal. However, more efforts are still needed to address all obstacles to investment between the EU and China, and ensure a fair, open and transparent regulatory environment for investors on both sides”, Malmström said after the meeting.
The future EU-China investment agreement will replace the 26 current bilateral agreements between the countries of the EU and China with a single agreement ensuring the legal protection of both partners' investments, and guaranteeing reciprocal market access to investors from both sides.
After six sessions of technical level talks (the last in June - see EUROPE 11329), these talks - which started in January 2014 - are now mid-way. The EU hopes to start discussions on market access “soon”, the Commission side stated at the EU-China summit on 29 June.
The European side has made market access its hobbyhorse, and therefore wants restrictions lifted on foreign investment in the Chinese market. It also wants China's requirements lifted on establishment (joint venture and caps) - as it does the bans on sectoral investment through the “investment catalogue”, the transfer of technology and the requirements for local content. On Thursday, the Commission states that the EU-China Joint Trade Committee enabled some of these obstacles to be discussed.
The two sides also held an exchange of views on the economic and political reforms underway in China. Malmström underlined the importance of strengthening the rule of law and the independence of the judicial system in order to enable lawyers to work freely and independently, and in order to support the work of foreign citizens and businesses, the Commission states.
Underlining the importance of the digital society for businesses operating in China, Malmström also called on Beijing to “contribute to making the internet a vehicle for freedom of expression and free trade”.
In addition, the EU-China Joint Trade Committee also reviewed the preparations for the 10th WTO ministerial conference, to be held in Nairobi in December. The EU expressed its deep concern at the state of the Doha Round negotiations and underlined the need for all the main members of the WTO to be ready to contribute to the negotiations and to take responsibility for strengthening the multilateral system.
Malmström also called for China's ban to be lifted on EU beef and for export authorisations to be accelerated for beef and pork, as well as for import procedures for dairy products to be accelerated. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)