Ashton Calls For Greater Sino-EU Trade Cooperation

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

14 September 2009

EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton has called for the EU and China to build greater confidence in one another, in order to ‘develop a deep and lasting economic partnership’.

At a speech at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing, Commissioner Ashton called for both sides to work on outstanding issues in order to strengthen a bilateral trade relationship already worth more than EUR 300 billion a year. She also pledged that the EU and China would continue to work together to complete the Doha Round of world trade talks.

Commissioner Ashton emphasised that trade frictions are more and more the result of non-tariff barriers, regulatory differences and intellectual property infringement rather than tariffs, building strong relationships between trading partners will be particularly important to keep trade flowing. Ashton said: “…confidence is vital because I firmly believe that the future of international trade lies in relationships rather than in the mathematical formulae used to crunch tariffs in the past.”

A frank and open exchange of views is important, emphasised Ashton: “We need to communicate – to speak frankly – to exchange ideas and to recognise there have been and will be some difficult moments as our relationship matures.”

According to Ashton, the High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue (HED) co-chaired by Commissioner Ashton and Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan is a good platform to tackle issues, including regulation, investment and IPR.

Trade frictions should not hinder the relationship, and misunderstandings should be clarified, Ashton stated. For instance, she explained, anti-dumping duties are sometimes seen as controversial, but they are an accepted part of advanced trade relations, used to combat unfair trade. Duties are applied based on strict rules and clear evidence, and affect less than 1% of China’s exports to the EU, she highlighted.

While the trade relationship remains strong, investment flows between the EU and China are still modest, and have actually been decreasing in recent years, Ashton noted.

The EU and China have both set ambitious climate change targets. The two sides should work more closely together, in Ashton’s view, to maximise the potential for trade and investment in low carbon goods and services, which can ‘boost our economies and contribute to lowering emissions’. For instance, she called for public procurement in renewable energy to be further opened up, in order to increase economies of scale and lower costs in the sector.

Later on Wednesday, Commissioner Ashton was due to visit the China IPR SME Helpdesk, a project funded by the EU that provides expert advice on intellectual property to companies investing in or trading with China. Intellectual property protection is one of the key issues for European companies trading with or investing in China.

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