The China-Eu Comprehensive Investment Agreement is expected to be concluded by the end of this year, and the China-Eu partnership will be further deepened

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China has published its Proposal for Eu Enterprises in China 2020/2021 (hereinafter referred to as the Proposal), which provides the Chinese government with detailed proposals on improving the business environment and stresses the need for the EU and China to push for the full conclusion of the China-Eu Comprehensive Investment Agreement by the end of 2020.

Respondents said that in the face of increasing trade protectionism led by the United States, "Made in China" urgently needs to be transformed, and cracks within the EU are emerging, so forming a new partnership between China and The EU seems to be the best choice at present. Once China and the EU form a new partnership, global economic integration will be further deepened, China and the EU will gain huge new economic development opportunities, and both sides will play more important roles in globalization.

European companies focus on improving the business environment in China

Is "proposal" referred to in the universality of 34 different industry and cross-industry, three walls (hainan) technology co., LTD. Chief strategy officer, former director of oracle software research and development engineers Huang Chong in an interview with the China trade news reporter said that the problems faced by many eu companies in China, and other areas (such as America, Japan and south) foreign companies doing business in China are faced with the problem there are similarities. On the one hand, with the rapid rise of labor cost and land cost in China, the operating cost of enterprises is rising simultaneously, and the cost advantage of doing business in China is weakening. On the other hand, local Chinese enterprises have risen in some fields and their industrial chains have been continuously optimized, enabling them to compete at the same level with the EU and other foreign-funded enterprises.

Yang Chengyu, an assistant research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also said that most European companies are unlikely to give up on the Chinese market. The more they raise their demands in various forms, the more importance they attach to the Chinese market.

At present, the development of EU enterprises in China is facing transformation. "It will be more and more difficult to rely on low-cost manufacturing. More and more EU companies need to invest in China in services, high-tech industries and other areas to grow together with China." Huang said that THE development of EU companies in China should rely more on the core competitive advantages of technology and RESEARCH and development, and European companies do not want Chinese companies to only acquire their advanced technologies.

Ms Yang said that for a long time, European companies' demands for the Chinese market had been focused on three main areas: reciprocal opening up, deregulation and policy continuity. Among them, policy continuity is the biggest appeal of European enterprises to China's business environment. "In fact, although European enterprises value profit and return on investment, they pay more attention to the sustainability of operation. We should make great efforts to send a signal of policy continuity to European enterprises.

Eu companies still favour the Chinese market

With China's effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic, EU companies investing and operating in China have fully benefited from China's rapidly recovering market and economy. According to a survey conducted by the German Chamber of Commerce in China on 294 German companies in China, 122 of them clearly indicated that they would stick to their investment plans in China, while Eu companies remain optimistic about their investment in China.

Yang said that despite the different stages of the epidemic, the economic and trade fundamentals between China and Europe have not changed. In particular, as China has successfully brought the epidemic under control, investment funds will continue to expand their investment in China in search of safety and returns. At the end of August, Germany's Bayer Group added 400 million yuan to its Beijing plant to increase production capacity. Recently, Schneider Electric increased its capital by 100 million yuan to jointly build china-France intelligent manufacturing industry Demonstration Park with Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone.

According to Huang, eu companies prefer the Chinese market for three reasons. First, the Chinese market is large and has grown despite the outbreak being under control. Second, China now has a complete industrial chain. In many fields, such as the new energy industry, China leads the world in industrial chain. Third, the Chinese government has gradually eased restrictions on foreign companies operating in China, and the business environment has been continuously improved.

For example, in the past two years, measures such as the lifting of equity ratio restrictions in the automobile industry have greatly increased the investment enthusiasm of well-known European manufacturers and suppliers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz. Volkswagen Group officially announced a 1.1 billion euro investment in battery manufacturer Guoxangaoke, and Mercedes-Benz announced a stake in Chinese power battery cell maker Forenpower Technology, and further deepened strategic cooperation. Recently, it was reported that Daimler plans to resume negotiations with BaiC to increase its stake in Beijing Benz to alleviate the loss and revenue pressure suffered in the epidemic... Several major German automobile companies have increased their investment in clean energy vehicles in China, and further accelerated the layout and market expansion of the electric industry in China, thus driving the domestic industrial chain.

Promote the conclusion of a comprehensive investment agreement between China and the EU

On August 30, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a speech at the French Institute of International Relations that China and the EU should follow the principle of flexibility, pragmatism and meeting each other to find solutions to the difficult issues in the china-eu Investment agreement at an early date and reach a comprehensive, balanced and high-level investment agreement within this year. On September 9, H.E. Ambassador Zhang Ming, Head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, attended the China-eu Business Dialogue hosted by the China Chamber of Commerce of the European Union (EU), said that the china-eu investment agreement negotiations have made great progress. Both sides should ensure that the negotiations are completed within this year and the free trade process can be launched as soon as possible, so as to provide more stability for the business development of both sides. Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, also said in the proposal that it is not impossible to complete the CHINA-EU Investment Agreement and expect China to become an open and fair market like the EU.

According to Huang, the key now is that the EU and China must push for a comprehensive China-Eu Comprehensive Investment Agreement by the end of 2020, so as to lay the foundation for the development of bilateral relations and efficient cooperation in the future. The agreement will significantly ease access for EU companies in sectors such as finance and insurance, communications and electronic equipment, food and beverage, and chemicals, eliminating huge barriers to market access. For example, companies engaged in the food and beverage industry no longer need Chinese partners to hold a majority stake, which is very beneficial for THE development of EU companies in China.