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EU Firms More Directly Involved
China Daily Business Weekly, 7th March 2007, page 4

According to Serge Janssens, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, 2007 will be another strong year for European companies in China. China will remain an important manufacturing base for European companies. However, the growing domestic market and the opportunities it presents are now attracting more and more foreign companies.

Furthermore, new Chinese rules and regulations such as the opening up of the Chinese banking sector and strengthened enforcement of intellectual property rights are now facilitating many foreign companies' access and growth in the Chinese market.

The opening up of the Chinese market should continue in the coming years, and the European Chamber would also like to see more emphasis on issues such as transfer of technology which could help European as well as Chinese companies to develop.

The European Chamber believes that China has made substantial efforts to implement WTO rules and regulations, and is confident that China will continue to adhere to the WTO principles of non-discrimination, freer trade, and predictability and transparency when developing policy.

The annual European Chamber's Business Confidence Survey allows the European Chamber to make predictions for the year ahead. According to the 2006-07 survey, a large number of European companies will be present in the service sector as well as in the energy and utility, petrochemical, chemical, and oil and gas sectors.

The European Chamber's last Business Confidence Survey showed that European companies no longer use China simply as a manufacturing base and that they are increasingly directly involved in developing China's domestic markets through manufacturing products for Chinese consumers, offering domestic services and investing in innovation.

This trend is expected to continue in 2007 as well as in the coming years. On the whole, the European Business Confidence Survey revealed that European Chamber members are very optimistic about the overall business outlook in China for 2007.

However, European companies are also expected to face certain challenges in 2007. The business survey suggested that the most common obstacles are strenuous, and sometimes unclear, government regulations, transparency and intellectual property rights protection.

Another major obstacle European companies are likely to meet is the limitation on foreign investment. European industry understands China's objectives of developing domestic markets and industries. By employing large numbers of people and producing goods and services for Chinese consumers, European companies can contribute directly to China's development. Furthermore, European companies will play a vital role in introducing international best practice and management techniques, training Chinese staff and investing in research and development.

Despite these challenges, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China is confident that 2007 will be a prosperous and successful year.