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2009-03-05 | All chapters
European Chamber meets with MIIT
European Chamber, 5th March 2009
On 4th March, a delegation from the European Chamber led by the Chamber President Joerg Wuttke had a meeting with Mr Xi Guohua, Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The Chamber presented its recommendations supporting the development of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in China, after which both sides exchanged views on the development of EU ICT companies in China, the cooperation between EU and Chinese companies in the fields of, scientific research, industry and environmental protection.
The meeting with MIIT has been long expected by members of the European Chamber. The Chairs of the Information Technology & Telecommunications (IT&T), Healthcare Equipment and Lighting Working Groups briefed Minister Xi on the latest concerns and recommendations of their industries. These issues include:
MIIT creation & operator re-structuring. European industry congratulates MIIT on 2008 milestones including ministry re-shuffling, operator re-structuring and granting of 3G license. We look forward to seeing a Chinese ISO submission well aligned with 3GPP direction. Research. Barcelona meetings confirmed clear will on the part of industry (EU, China, US) to work together. EU industry would like to do so not only in EU-funded projects, but in Chinese “mega projects”, especially LTE. Certification. EU industry calls for reducing overlap between different certification requirements. Market Access for EU operators. EU operators ready and willing to share their experiences and work with Chinese peers and government to help get services to reach population, but more flexibility would be gained by granting foreign operators the opportunity to partner with Chinese operators. IPR in standards. European industry applauds the first satisfactory licensing agreement between EU and Chinese companies. Next step should be granting equal access to standardization. Medical devices. EU industry believes that medical device products should continue to be excluded from all Electronic Information Product (EIP) and should be continuously exempted from the compulsory certification in China RoHS (Regulation of Hazardous Substances), as they are in the EU. Refurbished healthcare equipments. EU industry hopes MIIT can help promote the use of refurbished medical equipment and coordinate within China government departments to build up a regulatory framework allowing the use of refurbished medical equipment. Lighting industry. EU industry hopes MIIT should be more involved in the development of practical regulations regarding lighting industry eg. WEEE regulatory (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment).