Brussels, 15/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - Speaking to the international press in Beijing on Thursday as part of his visit to China from 14 to 18 July (EUROPE 8991), the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, confirmed the recent statement by the Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, on the recognition by the EU of the market economy status for China, stating that the "time is not yet right" for Brussels to grant this status. Mr Barroso indicated that China should offer more in return in the services and banking sector, for instance. "The presence of European companies in China is not what we are expecting. I would like to see the next concrete gestures China makes on this issue", he added. From the European point of view, "this is an economic and a technical issue, but I can understand perfectly well why the Chinese see it as a very important political issue", continued Mr Barroso, adding that the European decision "would certainly not be taken before the EU-China Summit". The president of the Commission also called upon the Chinese authorities to "fully implement their commitments in terms of defending intellectual property".
Furthermore, Mr Barroso indicated that he was waiting for proposals from Beijing on renewing the framework-agreement on cooperation, which governs economic and trade relations between the two parties and which dates from 1985. Negotiations on the new framework-agreement will be on the agenda of the forthcoming Beijing Summit. Having met the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, on Thursday, Mr Barroso was due to meet President Hu Jintao on Friday afternoon. He will then travel to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao.