| Author (Person) | Thomson, Ian |
|---|---|
| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning |
| Series Title | In Focus |
| Series Details | 20.5.00 |
| Publication Date | 20/05/2000 |
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus |
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After long negotiations the EU and the People's Republic of China signed on 19 May 2000 the 'Sino-EU Agreement on China's Accession to the WTO', which is expected to help the overall process of China joining the World Trade Organisations (WTO) and facilitate EU-China trading relations in goods and services. Background According to the Directorate-General for External Relations of the European Commission, the EU's China policy has two key objectives:
The legal framework for relations with China is the EC-China Trade and Cooperation Agreement, 1985 (see PreLex for legislative history of the Agreement). An EC-China Joint Committee reviews once a year all aspects of Sino-European trade and cooperation matters. A formal EU-China political dialogue was established in 1994. Subsequently, the Commission has adopted two major reviews of EU-China relations:
The first ever EU-China Summit at Heads of Government level was held in London in April 1998. Amongst the points agreed in the joint communiqué was the commitment of both sides to China's rapid accession to the WTO and the desire to cooperate to advance the accession negotiations. The second EU-China Summit took place in December 1999 in Beijing. Items discussed included the question of specifically European interests that China should take into account in the negotiations on its accession to the WTO. China and the EU are major trading partners: indeed, European Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy put the current negotiations into context on the 19 May 2000 when he said in his statement announcing the successful conclusions of the negotiations:
Total two-way trade has increased more than twenty-fold in the last two decades, and was worth Euro 54billion in 1998. However, the balance of trade in terms of value has reversed dramatically in those years. In the early 1980s the EU had a balance of trade surplus with China. By 1998 there was a deficit of over Euro 24billion. The EU is China's second largest export market (the EU being the largest trading bloc in the world). China is the EU's third non-European trading partner after the US and Japan. European companies invested about Euro 4.5bn in China in 1998 but this is only about 9&percent; of total foreign direct investment in China and is regarded as disappointingly small. From the EU perspective this is considered to be primarily due to a whole plethora of market access obstacles. Detailed information on such obstacles can be found on the European Commission Market Access database. In particular, look at the China reports in the following two sections of the database: Detailed statistics on trade between China and the EU are also available. Further background information on why the EU wants China to join the WTO and the progress of the detailed negotiations through 1999 and 2000 is available in a paper from the European Commission: DG Trade. A section on frequently asked questions is particularly informative:
For relations between China and the EU covering political and human rights issues, as well as trade, see a paper from the European Commission: DG External Relations. China and the World Trade Organisation China has been attempting to engage more formally in the world trading system for many years. Chinese membership of the World Trade Organisation will cement China's place in the global economy and ensure a greater degree of certainty for traders in China and world-wide. The history of China's relations with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organisation is a long and complicated one, affected by the issue of Taiwan. For an account of the relationship from the perspective of the Chinese see a paper from The People's Republic of China: Ministry of Foreign Affairs 'China and the World Trade Organisation'. China has been trying to accede to the GATT/WTO since 1986. China has formally been an 'observer' in the WTO since July 1995, the year of the WTO's establishment. Since March 1996 there have been a series of meetings of the Working Party on China's accession to the WTO. The Chinese Government has advocated three principles in applying for WTO membership:
The negotiations take place on two tracks: multilateral and bilateral. The objective of the multilateral negotiations is that China will adopt all the rules, practices and obligations required by WTO agreements to improve its general trade regime. The objective of the bilateral negotiations with individual trading entities such as the United States and the European Unon are to secure China's agreement to remove specific market access restrictions and open China's domestic market to more foreign goods and services. At present, China is negotiating with individual WTO members on the Protocols of Accession and issues relating to market access. China has already finished its bilateral negotiations with twenty one countries including Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States. An agreement with the United States was agreed in November 1999. For various policy and legal reasons the US administration is currently asking Congress to grant China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status before China joins the WTO. It is on this issue that Congress is expected to vote before the end of May 2000. For a full account of the US perspective on China's accession to the WTO see 'World Trade Organisation: China's membership status and normal trade relations issues' [pdf] from the United States General Accounting Office, March 2000. See also 'The US and the WTO: a global trade agenda' and 'The United States and China' from the US Department of State. A further excellent source of information is the website of the World Trade Organisation, and, in particular, the site China's accession to the WTO and its relationship to the Chinese Taipei accession and to Hong Kong and Macau, China , February 2000. The following sections are directly relevant:
See also a speech 'China and the world trading system' by WTO ex-Director General Renato Ruggiero in Beijing in 1997. The Sino-EU Agreement on China's Accession to the WTO The latest set of negotiations between the EU and China that led to the agreement on 19 May 2000 began earlier in 2000. After the 2nd EU-China Summit in December 1999 European Commissioner for Trade, Pascal Lamy, said that the EU was ready to start formal negotiations as soon as China had completed its examination of the EU position. Formal negotiations began at a session in January 2000 led by Long Yongtu, Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation and the European Commission's chief negotiator Hans-Friedrich Beseler, Director-General for Trade. A further set of negotiations took place in March 2000 . It was said that:
Pascal Lamy said on 11 May 2000 at a press conference that he hoped that negotiations the following week would conclude a deal. He said he understood:
A full week of negotiating led to the 'Sino-EU Agreement on China's Accession to the WTO' [pdf] being signed on 19 May 2000. Formally, the European Commission and China have signed an agreement, which concludes bilateral negotiations on China's accession to the WTO. The agreement is divided into issues relating to:
A highlights paper is available, which specifically touches upon benefits for EU companies in the areas of telecommunications, insurance, motor vehicles and agriculture, while also mentioning advances in distribution rights, government procurement, domestic preference, state monopolies and the reduction of tariffs. The agreement will need to be discussed with the EU Member States in the Council of the European Union and in the European Parliament. Reactions to the Agreement:
Further information within European Sources Online: European Sources Online: European Voice, 11.2.09: European Sources Online: European Voice, 8.4.99: European Sources Online: European Voice, 3.6.99: European Sources Online: European Voice, 7.10.99: European Sources Online: European Voice, 11.11.99: European Sources Online: European Voice, 18.11.99: European Sources Online: European Voice, 16.12.99: European Sources Online: European Voice, 20.1.00: European Sources Online: European Voice, 17.2.00: European Sources Online: European Voice, 17.2.00: European Sources Online: European Voice, 16.3.00: European Sources Online: European Voice, 6.4.00: European Sources Online: European Voice, 27.4.00: European Sources Online: European Voice, 11.5.00: [Earlier articles from European Voice can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online inserting 'China' in the Keyword field and '“European Voice”' in the Series Title field' ] Further information can be seen in these external links: The People's Republic of China: Ministry of Foreign Affairs European Union China and the World Trade Organisation The People's Republic of China: Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Basic policies governing China's foreign trade and economic cooperation International Monetary Fund: People's Republic of China and the IMF BBC News, 19.5.00: EU-China agree trade deal BBC News, 19.5.00: Analysis: China's WTO hopes BBC News, 19.5.00: US shift on China vote Ian Thomson Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Subject Categories | Trade |
| Countries / Regions | China |
