EU And China To Strengthen Economic And Trade Relationship

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

06 February 2009

It has been announced that, as a consequence of a meeting between Chinese and European Commission officials, nine agreements have been signed between the two to try to strengthen EU-China cooperation in several fields, including trade.

Subsequently, President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao have confirmed their mutual interest in pursuing high level dialogue, and have agreed on a second round of talks to take place in April.

Both parties expressed their commitment to keeping markets open, in the context of the current financial and economic crisis, including the continuation of the Doha round.

President Barroso announced:

“This visit was a good opportunity to reinforce EU-China relations and gave an impulse to our bilateral cooperation as well as our activities in facing the current global challenges like the international economic and financial crisis. The year of the Ox, which represents hard-work and patience, started this week and is a very appropriate opportunity to make progress in our ongoing bilateral negotiations on a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.”

EU Commissioner for Trade, Catherine Ashton, said:

"Getting our relationship right requires a lot of hard work, but the rewards more than justify the effort. EU-China trade must continue to be a motor for the world economy in these difficult times. Our leadership is needed especially to complete the Doha Round. We should step up our cooperation to find new opportunities for trade and investment, for instance in green technologies. I am looking forward to exploring this at the next meeting of the EU-China High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue Mechanism."

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