Members of European Parliament ECON Committee Visit Chamber
2018-09-19 | Shanghai
On 19th September, members of the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee visited the European Chamber’s Shanghai office and exchanged views on various issues with the Chamber representatives.
Carlo D’Andrea, vice president of the Chamber and chairman of the Shanghai Board, shared key messages from the European Business in China Position Paper 2018/2019 and 18 Months Since Davos report. Namely, while the pace of reform has accelerated in the past year, there still exists a gap between high level promises made by the Chinese government and the reality which stands. This ‘reform deficit’ has led to global tensions, culminating in trade frictions between China and the US, with European business caught in the cross-fire. Mr Andrea discussed the impact that US-China trade tariffs are having on European companies in China based on a recent European Chamber survey.
Chairs of the Investment and Banking and Securities working groups addressed challenges that European business is currently facing in China, the impact of US-China trade tensions, as well as Chinese authorities’ unequal treatment of European and Chinese companies when it comes to law enforcement. Mr D’Andrea urged the EU authorities to swiftly conclude negotiations on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) with China to ensure reciprocity in the EU-China trade relationship.