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EU to urge China to open economy further
2006-10-22
The European Union will call on China this week to go further with opening its economy to foreign investment and addressing problems caused by its emergence as a trade superpower. The EU's executive Commission will say in a policy paper on Tuesday the fast-growing EU-China economic relationship has been positive so far but Beijing needs to do more to assure Europeans it is not an economic threat, an EU official said. "We need to address the protectionist voices in Europe," the official said. "We need to send a message to our constituents that openness is good but also that our relationship must go both ways and is not just about trade deficits and delocalization." EU governments and businesses are divided between fears of China's cheap exports and excitement about the huge potential of the country's internal market, as well as the competitiveness gains for European companies which manufacture in China. "We want to defuse the perception that China is a threat," the official said, asking not to be named. "China is a huge opportunity but it has a role to play in changing perceptions." The paper comes shortly before European trade chief Peter Mandelson visits China in November, ahead of the launch of negotiations in January for a new, wide-ranging partnership agreement which will include trade and investment issues. The two sides agreed to launch the talks at a summit in September when the EU dismayed rights groups by agreeing to deal with business in a relatively independent manner amid Chinese warnings against linking trade to human rights. HUMAN RIGHTS The trade policy paper will accompany a broader European Commission report on overall EU-China ties expected to note some progress by Beijing on rights while urging it to do more. After a latest exchange on rights on Thursday, the EU noted China's commitment to ratify the U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and reform its criminal justice system. But it expressed deep concern over continuing restrictions on freedom of expression and the jailing of rights activists, lawyers and journalists. Trade ties have been tested recently by EU moves to slow some of China's exports and the EU is suing China at the World Trade Organization for what it says are unfair barriers in the auto sector. Mandelson, an avowed free-trader, has called on China to meet its responsibilities as the third-biggest global trader. Its EU trade surplus soared past 100 billion euros ($126 billion) in 2005 and is running about 25 percent higher in 2006. The pace of China's growth has left the EU's previous 2003 report on bilateral ties looking outdated, EU officials say. Tuesday's paper will spell out the bloc's main complaints, including limits on foreign ownership such as in the auto sector, counterfeiting, and barriers to China's public procurement market, the EU official said. It will also urge China to move away more quickly from being an export-driven economy and instead spur domestic demand, a shift EU policy-makers hope will slow China's trade surpluses and ease strains on the global economy while creating opportunities for foreign investors. The report will reiterate calls by the EU for China to allow faster appreciation of its yuan currency from levels widely seen as designed to enhance China's export power. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom)
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