Memo: EU-China Trade Ministerial Meeting 12 June 2007

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will meet Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai in Brussels on 12 June 2007 for the annual EU-China Joint Trade Ministerial Meeting. China and the EU have one of the fastest growing trading relationships in the global economy: Europe is now China’s largest trading partner, and China Europe’s largest source of manufactured imports. The Minister and the Commissioner will review bilateral trade relations. Commissioner Mandelson will urge his Chinese counterpart to continue to address barriers to EU exporters and investors in the Chinese market and to protect EU businesses in China from intellectual property theft. Although China has now been in the WTO for six years, EU exporters and investors continue to face persistent problems entering and operating in the Chinese market.