Chinese officials have reaffirmed the country´s openness to European Union companies, after the EU Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) issued an annual position paper alleging that China’s standing as the promising investment destination has retreated.
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press briefing that “at present, China is actively building a new development pattern”.
“China’s promotion of a new system of a higher-level open economy and the construction of a market-orientated, rule-of-law and international business environment will bring broader development opportunities to enterprises from all countries, including European countries, and open up new space for China-EU economic and trade cooperation”, Wang added.
At a Ministry of Commerce press briefing, spokesperson Shu Jueting said that the Position Paper “proposes that the EU continues to push for deeper bilateral engagement with China and oppose economic decoupling”.
“We believe that China and the EU are each other’s important economic and trade partners and should adhere to promoting pragmatic cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit and win-win results”, Shu said.
According to the “European Business in China Position Paper 2022/2023,” some European companies are now viewing China as “less predictable, reliable and efficient, and with geopolitical tensions on the rise, its future is less certain.”
However, the majority of European companies and observers have largely played down the possibility of any decoupling, citing mutually beneficial economic ties and the growing importance of Chinese products to the EU market in tamping down elevated inflation.
The position paper also advises the EU maintain a “flexible China strategy” and continue to push for deeper bilateral engagement, such as WTO reform and tackling the climate change.
EUCCC said it has seen European companies evaluating reshoring (relocating manufacturing back home), nearshoring (bringing manufacturing nearer to point of use), or friend-shoring (relocating manufacturing to country considered to be a trusted partner) as possible solutions.
Brussels and European capitals face ‘reality of interacting with a more assertive China’
European Chamber President Jörg Wuttke met in person with Assistant Minister Guo Tingting of the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing to present the paper and had an in-depth exchange on the key recommendations highlighted in the document, as well as the European Union (EU)-China trade and investment outlook, according to a EUCCC statement.
“Assistant Minister Guo recognised the significance of the European Chamber in promoting EU-China exchanges. He also expressed hope for the continuation of working closely with the Chamber, in order to further strengthen EU-China economic relations and promote cooperation on green development and other areas”, the statement adds.
