EU group wants fairer policies for foreign firms

The central government must deepen structural reforms, reduce intervention in the market and offer an equal playing field for foreign companies, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said yesterday.

It also warned that Beijing's recent investigation into European drug companies had fuelled concerns about unfair treatment of foreign players.

Chamber president Davide Cucino said that "too strong a presence" of government in many industrial sectors, such as telecommunications and banking, would hurt competition and hinder Beijing's efforts to sustain economic growth.

"Previously China could make a choice between economic restructuring and maintaining growth," he said in Beijing while releasing the chamber's annual position paper on China. "Now economic restructuring is necessary to maintain growth."

Cucino said the new leadership on the mainland had launched some reforms, such as simplifying government approvals for investments and approving the establishment of a free-trade zone in Shanghai.

But the chamber said a number of market barriers remained.