EU business lists its grievances over China Go back »

2009-09-02 | Beijing, Shanghai, Southwest China, Nanjing, Shenyang, Tianjin, South China

EU business lists its grievances over China
Reuters, 2nd September 2009

BEIJING, Sept 2 (Reuters) - China needs to nurture a fair and transparent business environment to sustain its economic recovery and remain attractive for foreign investors, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Wednesday.

Following are some of the grievances contained in the chamber's annual position paper:

MARKET ACCESS

-- Chinese companies are acquiring EU car makers, but foreign auto manufacturers must still enter 50-50 joint ventures and may have no more than two plants.

-- In public procurement, foreign wind turbine makers have not won a single contract since 2005 because of a bidding process that is rigged to favour domestic companies.

-- A European company that was for years the China market leader in commercial encryption technology is finding it hard to do business because of new rules requiring its clients to use government-certified suppliers. But no foreign firm has received certification in what the chamber calls blatant discrimination.

-- Foreign operators of computer reservation systems for travel agencies and airlines, including Madrid-based Amadeus Global Travel Distribution, are still barred from China's market seven years after China joined the World Trade Organisation.

-- Foreign firms are shut out of the burgeoning market for outbound tourism.

-- The new Postal law specifically prohibits foreign-invested companies from delivering domestic "letter articles". The chamber called this an act of protectionism and a step backward.

TRANSPARENCY OF REGULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

-- Time granted for public consultation on proposed regulations lengthened to 24 days in 2008 from 21 days in 2007 but is well short of the international best practice of 60 days.

-- The Ministry of Commerce did not provide enough evidence to explain why it rejected Coca-Cola's (KO.N) bid in March for local juice maker Huiyan, inviting suspicions that its ruling was disguised protectionism.

-- China holds foreign firms to higher standards in implementing environmental protection and labour laws, handing domestic rivals a hidden subsidy.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

-- Confidential information required by Chinese testing laboratories goes far beyond the scope necessary for certification and is often leaked to Chinese competitors.

-- Concerns about information leakage will also make European businesses less likely to carry out research and development in China because draft Patent Law rules require firms to submit innovations for "confidentiality assessments" before they file for patents overseas.

Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSPEK16429520090902