European chamber warns China may lose appeal for investors if it doesn’t act
EU business group’s members worry about market access and uneven treatment – and half say they fear regulatory hurdles could get worse
Without “meaningful” efforts to open up and level the playing field, China will lose its appeal as a top investment destination for foreign firms and its hi-tech ambitions could also be held back, the EU Chamber of Commerce in China said.
And nearly half of the chamber’s members polled are concerned that regulatory hurdles could get worse in the next five years, according to its annual business survey released on Wednesday.
The chamber also called for bilateral investment talks between Beijing and Brussels to be sped up to address the long-term concerns of European businesses over uneven treatment in regulation and investment. Foreign companies in China have long complained about these issues, and they are also part of the spiralling trade dispute between Beijing and Washington that has seen the two sides imposing tit-for-tat tariffs.
“The EU-China relationship is now at a critical juncture, and the time for increased dialogue and cooperation has arrived,” the chamber said in the report.
Beijing and Brussels are due to hold high-level economic talks in Beijing next Monday. Unequal treatment and lack of reciprocity in investment access – especially under China’s hi-tech industrial policy – are expected to top the agenda. Connectivity between EU projects and Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, a trade and infrastructure strategy, will also be discussed.