Eighth annual Position Paper reports business optimism but seeks increased transparency and fairness Go back »

2008-09-09 | All chapters

European Chamber's Eighth annual Position Paper reports business optimism but seeks increased transparency and fairness

Beijing, 9th September 2008. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China today launches its annual European Business in China Position Paper 2008/2009. This year's Position Paper indicates that European companies are generally optimistic about their business in China, but their concerns remain about market access, transparency, intellectual property rights (IPR) and environmental sustainability. Economic Nationalism appears to be a growing concern.

Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Chamber, commented, "Strong economic growth continues to help the business environment, but trade barriers and investment hurdles are getting more sophisticated. European business could contribute more to China's economy if our companies shared a level playing field with their domestic competitors. When we call for further improvements in market access, transparency and IPR protection in this Position Paper, we are not just asking for better opportunities for our companies. We also see these improvements as vital for improving EU-China trade relations and for stimulating innovation in the Chinese economy. Most importantly, our recommendations would help China build a strong modern economy without paying an unacceptable price in terms of human health and environmental degradation."

This year's Position Paper is composed of 29 individual papers prepared by the European Chamber's 23 Working Group and 6 Forums. It outlines the views and concerns of European companies in China and sets out what European businesses hope will be seen as constructive proposals for improving the business environment. European business is committed to a constructive dialogue, and strongly believes that maintaining and increasing openness in both directions is vital for the continued growth of both the EU and Chinese economies.

Marianne Friese, Secretary General of the European Chamber said, "The Chinese leadership's affirmation of the importance of innovation, openness and competition is encouraging. We firmly support China's efforts to ensure a sustainable balanced growth, and have made more than 300 recommendations in this edition of Position Paper to support this and other goals."

The European Business in China Position Paper 2008/2009 will be presented to government and regulatory agencies in China, to the European Commission and EU Member State Governments, and to a wide range of business organisations and companies in China and Europe. Following the public launch of the Position Paper across China, members of the European Chamber will travel to Brussels to brief senior officials at the European Commission.

Highlights of the European Business in China Position Paper 2008/2009

Recent Positive Developments

Since 2007 China has been the EU's second largest trading partner. In 2007, bilateral trade between EU and China continued to grow rapidly. Despite the EU’s widening trade deficit with China, the share of imports from Asia to EU has remained notably stable over the past ten years Promulgation of new regulations and laws, including the Anti-Monopoly Law (August, 2007) and the Implementation Rules (December 2007 and on-going) of the new Enterprise Income Tax Law Improved consultation in the drafting of certain legislation such as the draft Food Safety Law and the draft Energy Law (December 2007) China fulfilled one of its WTO obligations by submitting an initial offer to join the Government Procurement Agreement (December 2007) Enactment of the new Labour Contract Law (January 2008) Creation of five Super-Ministries (March 2008) Establishment of the EU-China High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue Mechanism (April 2008) The new Provisions on the Disclosure of Government Information (May 2008) Awareness-raising campaigns such as the "Fight Piracy Every Day" campaign and promulgation of China's National Intellectual Property Strategy (June 2008)

Challenges

The lack of equal market access for foreign businesses in China, including the usage of a Foreign Investment Catalogue In the public procurement area, the lack of consistency in the application of qualification criteria Restriction of foreign participation in technical committees responsible for the promulgation of national standards The outdated and counterproductive 50/50 Joint Venture restrictions coupled with obligatory transfer of technology Short periods for public calls for comments from the Government on proposed legislation The need of more transparency, predictability and coordination in administration Continued lack of effective deterrence against IPR infringements The need for market mechanisms to help safeguard energy resources by promoting the responsible use of precious natural resources The need for greater consistency, implementation and enforcement of laws and regulations, particularly at the local level Technical barriers to trade and investment in the form of home-grown standards, the lack of adoption of international standards and arduous type approval procedures Sufficient time should be granted between the promulgation and the effective date of laws and regulations Forced technology transfer for participation in certain sectors Lack of independent regulators in certain sectors which results in the lack of effective, transparent and independent decision making

To download this press release, please click here.
To download the PowerPoint presentations on the press conference, please click here.
To download the photos of the press conference, please click: photo_1, photo_2, photo_3

To know more about or order the Position Paper, please click here. 

For further information, please contact:
Grace Yao, Press Officer of the European Chamber
Phone: +86 10 6462 2066 - 30
Mobile: +86 1367 1168 084
E-mail: gyao@euccc.com.cn

中国欧盟商会第八版年度《建议书》显示欧盟企业对商业前景表示乐观，但寻求更高的透明度和公平待遇

北京，2008年9月9日。中国欧盟商会于今日发布了商会的年度白皮书《欧盟企业在中国建议书2008/2009》。今年的《建议书》显示欧盟企业对他们在华的经营普遍表示乐观，但对市场准入、透明度、知识产权和环境可持续性方面的问题，他们仍表忧虑。经济民族主义是一个日益值得关注的问题。

中国欧盟商会主席伍德克评论道：“强劲的经济增长使商业环境保持良好，但贸易壁垒和投资障碍却日趋复杂。如果能够给予和中国企业平等竞争的机会，欧盟企业就可为中国经济发展做出更多贡献。我们在《建议书》中呼吁改善市场准入、提高透明度和加强知识产权保护，不只是在为我们的企业争取更好的机会，也是加强中欧经贸关系和激励中国经济创新发展的关键。最重要的是，我们的建议将帮助中国构建强大的现代经济体，而无需付出牺牲人民健康和损害环境的沉重代价。”

今年的《建议书》包括了由商会的23个工作组和6个论坛编撰的共29份建议书，概述了在华欧盟企业的观点和忧虑，并为改善商业环境提出了建设性意见。欧盟企业致力于开展建设性对话，坚信保持并深化双向的开放对中欧各自经济的持续增长都至关重要。

中国欧盟商会秘书长玛莉莲说：“中国领导层认可创新、开放和竞争的重要性，这是令人鼓舞的。我们坚定支持中国为确保可持续平衡增长所作的努力，在这一版《建议书》中提供了三百多条建议来协助实现这一目标及其他目标。”

《欧盟企业在中国建议书2008/2009》将被呈递给中国各级政府及监管机构、欧盟委员会、欧盟各成员国政府和中欧两地的广大商业组织及公司。在中国各地发布《建议书》之后，中国欧盟商会的会员将前往比利时布鲁塞尔，向欧盟委员会的高层官员介绍该书内容。


《欧盟企业在中国建议书2008/2009》内容要点

近期的发展

从2007年开始，中国成为欧盟的第二大贸易伙伴。在2007年，中欧双边贸易继续快速增长。尽管欧盟对华贸易逆差不断增长，但欧盟从亚洲进口的份额在过去10年中却非常稳定。 颁布新法律法规，包括《反垄断法》（2007年8月）和新《企业所得税法》实施细则（自2007年12月起，陆续颁布中） 开展关于《食品安全法》草案和《能源法》草案的讨论（2007年12月） 中国履行了对世贸组织作出的承诺之一，为加入《政府采购协议》递交首次提案（2007年12月） 《劳动合同法》生效（2008年1月） 组建五大部委（2008年3月） 建立中欧经贸高层对话机制（2008年4月） 颁布新的《政府信息公开条例》（2008年5月） 开展知识产权保护意识培养活动，如“反盗版天天行动”，以及颁布《国家知识产权战略纲要》（2008年6月）

挑战

在华的欧盟企业未充分获得的公平的市场准入待遇，其表现包括《外商投资产业指导目录》的使用 在公共采购领域，资质标准的运用缺乏一致性 禁止外国企业参与负责颁布国家性标准的技术委员会 50/50合资企业限制以及强制性技术转让已过时，并起到阻碍作用 政府对法律草案的公开意见征求期缩短 在政府机构行政方面，需要更高的透明度、更多的可预见性和更有力的协调 对知识产权侵权行为，依然缺乏有效地遏制措施 需要采用市场机制，鼓励以负责任的态度利用宝贵的自然资源，以帮助保护能源 法律体系需要进一步协调一致，并加强法律的贯彻和实施，特别需要加强各地方的执法力度 由国家自行制定的标准造成贸易和投资上的技术壁垒，缺乏对国际标准的执行，审批程序繁琐 在法律法规颁布和生效之间，应留有足够的过渡时间 对某些行业的进入设立强制性的技术转让门槛 在某些领域缺少独立的监管部门，缺乏有效、透明和独立的决策机制

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希望了解更多信息，敬请联系：
姚辰
中国欧盟商会新闻官
电话：+86 (0)10 6462 2066 – 30
手机：+86 1367 1168 084
电邮：gyao@euccc.com.cn

For more information please contact

Xinhe Fan