European Chamber Statement on New Restrictions on Government Automobile Purchasing Go back »

2012-03-05 | All chapters

Recent statements by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in regard to the openness of China’s automotive markets were inaccurately reported and translated by members of the press.

The European Chamber supports open markets and a level playing field for all companies. We also oppose protectionist measures in the areas of both government and public procurement, and encourage China to allow the same kind of access to its markets that Chinese companies enjoy in the European Union.

Premier Wen Jiabao has stated on several occasions that all enterprises registered under Chinese law are Chinese enterprises. The Chinese government has affirmed that government procurement should be de-linked from industrial policies and policies to promote indigenous innovation.

In June 2011, the Ministry of Finance announced the repeal of three key policies linking government procurement to indigenous innovation, effective 1st July, 2011, namely: 1) Innovation Product Government Procurement Contract Measures; 2) Indigenous Innovation Product Government Procurement Budget Measures; and 3) Indigenous Innovation Product Government Procurement Evaluation Measures. These measures were further supported by a notice issued by the State Council in November 2011, directing all government entities to remove any mention of linkages between indigenous innovation policy and government procurement incentive measures within regulatory documents and to stop such implementation by 1st December, 2011. 

The European Chamber welcomes such commitments but is disappointed that the preliminary list for official government automotive fleet purchases issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) runs contrary to such commitments.

By listing domestic automotive models built exclusively by local Chinese brands, the MIIT list would therefore exclude models manufactured under joint ventures with foreign companies, including European automakers. These government and CPC entities represent a potential market of over 1 million cars per year. The MIIT list would serve to exacerbate discriminatory treatment against foreign automobile manufacturers in China and also decrease innovation in the sector by further restricting the forces of healthy competition.

On 14 November last year, MIIT took measures to restrict official car usage in order to ‘reduce costs and promote energy efficiency’ whereas the latest draft catalog for official car purchases serves none of these purposes. The European Chamber calls upon the Chinese government to revise the preliminary list for CPC and official government automotive fleet purchases to include all cars that meet identified cost and engine size limits.

近来，媒体报导中引用了中国欧盟商会对中国汽车市场立场，然而，部分媒体对此立场的理解和报道的准确性差强人意。

中国欧盟商会拥护开放的市场，并支持为所有公司提供平等的竞争环境。欧盟商会反对在政府及公共采购领域的贸易保护主义措施，并鼓励中国政府向所有公司提供中资企业在欧盟享受的平等市场准入。

温家宝总理在若干场合都申明过，所有依照中国法律在中国注册的企业都是中国企业。中国政府也多次重申，政府采购应与工业政策及促进资助创新的政策相分离。

2011年6月，财政部下达通知，自2011年7月1日起，废止三项使政府采购与自主创新挂钩的重要政策。此三项政策为： 《自主创新产品政府采购合同管理办法》、《自主创新产品政府采购预算管理办法》和《自主创新产品政府采购评审办法》。在2011年11月，国务院下发的通知的支持，要求所有政府实体部门在法规文件中将自主创新政策和政府采购鼓励措施脱钩。

欧盟商会欢迎上述一系列措施，但对而后工信部发布的《2012年度党政机关公务用车选用车型目录(征求意见稿)》（下称《意见稿》）与中国政府此前作出的承诺互相矛盾表示失望。

工信部《意见稿》中列出的汽车型号都仅限于国产自主品牌，此举将合资企业、外资企业均排斥在外。该市场需求预计每年约在一百万辆汽车左右。工信部这份清单将加重外资汽车制造商在中国受到的差别待遇，并因限制良性竞争而削弱这一领域的创新能力。

去年11月14日，工信部采取了限制公车使用的措施以“降低成本，提高能效”。然而，最新的《2012年度党政机关公务用车选用车型目录(征求意见稿)》无助于上述目标的实现。中国欧盟商会呼吁工信部车将所有符合价格与引擎尺寸限制的汽车都列入《2012年度党政机关公务用车选用车型目录》。

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