European Business in China Position Paper 2012/2013: Equal Access for All Would Bring about Rebalancing Go back »

2012-09-06 | All chapters

China holds a historic opportunity to create the conditions for a second period of sustained growth through a move up the value chain, whereby the marketplace functions to ensure that the most innovative, productive and efficient companies prevail. A fundamental shift in mindset and a determination to reduce state involvement in the business environment is needed to bring this about.

Davide Cucino, President of the European Chamber commented, that “The state-led investment model has reached the end of its shelf-life. It has fostered 30 years of breakneck growth and lifted millions out of poverty, but it is no longer sustainable because it is by nature unequal. Now the low-hanging fruit have been plucked and productivity returns on investment are more difficult, healthy competition is needed to ensure efficient capital utilisation and to encourage private capital investment, as well as to drive income and consumption growth, but most notably, to breed innovation”.

“There’s no longer a debate about whether the climate is good for foreign investment. China’s approach to foreign investment continues to be conceived in a fundamentally anachronistic mindset. Rather than commencing from the premise that foreign investment and healthy competition in an open marketplace brings positive impacts in and of itself, China places conditionality on the opening of markets to foreign investment. This produces an asymmetry in the level of openness versus the EU marketplace which remains resiliently open. To realise the new growth model and avoid the middle-income trap, bias against foreign and domestic private investment must change. Equal access for all is needed, not only to markets, but to procurement, treatment under the law, finance and subsidies and technology innovation”, Mr. Cucino said. 

About the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China was founded by 51 European member companies in October 2000 to give European businesses a common voice across different business sectors, nationalities and regions of China. The European Chamber now has more than 1,700 member companies and is active in seven chapters across nine cities: Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing, the Pearl River Delta (Guangzhou and Shenzhen), Shanghai, Shenyang and Tianjin. The Chamber is recognised by the European Commission and the Chinese government as the authoritative and independent voice of European business in China.

About the Position Paper

The Position Paper is the European Chamber’s primary annual publication. This 13^th annual edition of the Position Paper offers both Chinese and European policy-makers over 600 recommendations that draw directly from the knowledge and expertise of the European Chamber’s 1,700 member companies. The recommendations were formulated over a six-month consultative process by 35 separate Working Groups, covering 26 vertical industry sectors and 9 horizontal cross-industry sectors.

The Position Paper contains general and specific recommendations to Chinese policy-makers outlining suggested steps to improve the Chinese business environment. These cover general recommendations to improve the administrative and operational business environment, as well as recommendations aimed at identifying areas where China could open market access to foreign-invested enterprises. Of the 210 Key Recommendations identified within the Position Paper, over one-fifth of these are identified as clearly relating to market access issues. 

Over the coming year, the European Chamber will present the Position Paper to relevant Chinese Ministries at both Ministerial level and Working level to identify possibilities to cooperate together to promote the implementation of these regulations. The Position Paper will also be presented to European authorities, both at the European Union and in Member States, in mid September as part of the European Chamber’s annual European Tour. In Brussels the European Chamber will present relevant recommendations of the Position Paper to nine Commissioners of the European Commission prior to the upcoming EU-China Summit in September.

For more information, please contact:

Yolanda Zhang 张君婷

Press Officer 中国欧盟商会 新闻官
European Union Chamber of Commerce in China

Mobile:              +86 1352 245 5994       
Fax: +86 (10) 6462 2067
Email: yzhang@europeanchamber.com.cn

中国欧盟商会：可持续发展要求平等的参与机会

         2012年9月6日，北京——中国欧盟商会于今日发布的《欧盟企业在中国建议书2012-2013》（下称《建议书》）指出，即将到来的领导人换届为中国改革其招商引资模式创造了重要契机。作为欧盟商会最为重要的年度出版物，今年的《建议书》是第十三版。

         眼下，正是中国为实现其第二个持续增长期创造条件的关键时机。为此，中国经济应向价值链上游发展，从而在市场机制的作用下，孕育出更具创新力、生产力与更高效的企业。而这需要中国从根本上转变思维模式，并且下定决心减少政府对商业环境的干预。

         欧盟商会主席大卫先生认为，“政府主导的投资模式已经不再有效。这一模式促成了中国过去三十年的飞速发展，使数千万中国人摆脱了贫困，但是，它已然不可维系，因为这一模式从本质上来说是不平等的。如今，垂手可得的果实已经被采摘殆尽，投资也越来越难以带来相应比例的生产力回报。因此，中国需要健康的竞争环境，以确保高效的资本利用，鼓励民间投资，并促进收入与消费增长，最为重要的是，这有利于提高中国的创新能力。”

        “中国的商业环境已不再利于吸引外资，这已是不争的事实。中国对待外国投资的方式体现着完全过时的思维模式。在开放的市场环境中，外资以及其带来的良性竞争会对经济的可持续发展产生积极的影响。但遗憾的是，中国仍然限制外资进入部分领域。这导致中国与欧盟市场的开放水平不对称，相较之下，欧盟市场虽然经济受困，但始终保持高度的开放。为实现新的增长模式、避开中等收入陷阱，中国必须改变对外资与民间资本的偏见。平等的参与机会不仅对市场准入而言是必要的，且对于政府采购、法治、融资与补贴以及技术创新等各个方面都至关重要。”

如需下载《建议书》全文，请点击：

http://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/chamber-publications  

《欧盟企业在中国建议书》

        《欧盟企业在中国建议书》是欧盟商会主要的年度出版物。第十三版《建议书》为中国和欧盟政策制定者提供了六百多条建议，这些建议都是直接来自商会1700家会员企业的知识与专长。建议由三十五个工作组协商制定，历时六个月，覆盖二十六个具体行业和九个跨行业领域。

        《建议书》就如何改善中国的商业环境为中国政策制定者提供建议，包括关于如何改善企业经营环境的整体建议，也包括关于应在哪些具体方面扩大外资企业市场准入的具体建议。在本年度《建议书》提出的210条主要建议中，超过1/5都明确指向市场准入问题。

        未来一年，欧盟商会将把《建议书》呈送给中国相关部委，包括部长级与其他层级的官员，以探讨合作促进这些建议实施的可能性。商会也将于今年九月中旬展开的年度欧洲访问中向欧盟及其成员国政府呈送《建议书》。在九月份欧中峰会召开之前，商会将在布鲁塞尔将《建议书》中的相关建议传达给九位欧盟委员会官员。

中国欧盟商会

         2000年10月，中国欧盟商会由51个欧洲会员企业共同成立，代表不同行业、中国不同地区的来自不同国家的欧洲企业。商会现有1700多个会员企业，并在中国九座城市开设了七个办公室：北京、成都、重庆、南京、珠三角（广州和深圳）、上海、沈阳和天津。商会已获得欧盟委员会和中国政府的认可，是欧盟企业在中国独立的官方代言机构。

如需更多信息，请联络：

Yolanda Zhang 张君婷

Press Officer 中国欧盟商会 新闻官
European Union Chamber of Commerce in China

Mobile:             +86 1352 245 5994       
Fax: +86 (10) 6462 2067
Email: yzhang@europeanchamber.com.cn

For more information please contact