Piraterie, Handelshemmnisse, Klimaschutz: Mandelson ermahnt China[en] 

On 10 November 2006, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will wrap up a four-day trip to China aimed at presenting the Commission’s new strategy on EU-China trade relations, in which it warns that Beijing must play by WTO rules and open up its markets to European businesses if it wants to avoid protectionist barriers in the EU (see EurActiv 24 October 2006). 

During his stay, Mandelson told China that it was time it assumed a level of responsibility that matches the huge impact it is having on world trade, energy use, climate change, development and global security. 

“It is no longer possible for China to shut out the world or behave as if it were outside the system looking in,” he said. 

• IPR: 

Visiting China’s Intellectual Property Office on 8 November, Mandelson urged Beijing to improve enforcement of anti-piracy laws, make it easier to prosecute violators and toughen punishments. 

He said that intellectual property theft is the "top issue" for Europe in its trade relations with China: 

• WTO-Doha: 

Negotiations in the WTO on a global free trade pact broke down in July 2006 due to EU and US refusals to move on agricultural tariffs and subsidies, but also due to EU and US unhappiness regarding the refusal of large emerging economies, such as China, India and Brazil, to provide increased access to their markets for manufactured goods and services. 

During his trip, Mandelson argued that, as the world’s third-largest exporter, soon to be its largest exporter, China must stop seeing itself as a developing nation and, instead, accept fair access to its markets so as to play an equal role with the EU and the US in re-opening the Doha Round. 

• SMEs: 

SMEs account for, respectively, 99% and 75% of the total number of firms in the EU and China and will therefore play a vital role in future trade between the two regions. 

However, small European businesses still face major difficulties on the ground, due to the complexity of the Chinese business environment and legal system. 

On 9 November, Mandelson opened the EU-China Partenariat 2006, which aims to help Chinese and European companies make business connections, through a system of “speed-dating” encounters between 500 European companies and 450 Chinese companies. 

"Hopefully these 'blind dates' will lead to romance and then marriage," said Mandelson, adding: "Trade between the EU and China should absolutely not be the sole preserve of the corporate giants. The lifeblood of both of our economies are small- and medium-sized businesses."

• Global responsibilities: 

Arguing that China is now a heavyweight in the global arena, Mandelson also urged China to step up its contribution to solving global problems, such as collective security, development questions and climate change. 

"Counterfeiting, officially here in China, is a drain on Europe's competitiveness," said Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. "IP theft is crippling for any company or economy that trades in ideas," he added, saying that it is not only a problem for Europe but also for China itself: "80% of IP litigation in China is between Chinese companies. China's film and music industry is crippled by intellectual property theft and poor IP protection is a major disincentive for Chinese companies to innovate and move into high-value added production."

"I am pressing the Chinese government to toughen criminal sanctions for IP violations," Mandelson said, adding that while he would press "hard", he was not considering taking China to the WTO on IPR. "The quality of our relationship and our desire to find amiable solutions should make that unnecessary," he said. 

Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said that the country has made big strides in protecting intellectual property rights and lamented the fact that Washington has said it is considering taking China to the WTO because of intellectual property violations, saying that this would have an "extremely negative" impact on US-China trade relations. 

"We think it's senseless. It won't help solve any problems," he said. "If action is taken at the WTO it will have an extremely negative impact on the two countries' economic and trade relations." 

Commenting on the WTO talks, Mandelson said that the EU expected further tariff reductions from Beijing: "China’s benchmark is not to be found in the developing world. It plays in a different league. The expectations are higher." 

But, Bo Xilai replied that almost 200 million Chinese still live below the poverty level of $1 per day, adding: "Those who call for opening wider China’s market to the outside world must bear in mind the basic position of China as a developing country."