The European Union (EU) and China need an ambitious approach in
negotiations aimed at reaching a new partnership and cooperation
agreement, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson says.
"This has to be an agreement of the highest standard and
ambition, which both addresses current concerns and provides the
framework for the coming years," Mandelson told Xinhua in a written
interview ahead of a crucial China-EU summit.
With leaders from China and the EU ready to begin their annual
gathering next week in Beijing, the new partnership agreement is
almost certain to be high on the agenda, which will also include
trade relations, cooperation in environmental protection and
international hotspots.
Earlier this year, China and the EU officially launched talks on
the new partnership and cooperation agreement, a key document to
update the 1985 Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement, which
currently constitutes the legal basis governing China-EU relations,
and to set the tone for their future relations.
Mandelson said he hopes the new partnership deal could bring the
EU and China, which are already leading trade partners with each
other, even closer.
"On trade, we need to focus on the medium to long term, seeking
an agreement that will enhance the business environment and unlock
opportunities," Mandelson said. "This is in the shared interest of
the EU and China."
The EU remains the largest trading partner of China while China
is the trading bloc's second largest trading partner. In the first
10 months of this year, bilateral trade stood at nearly 288 billion
U.S. dollars, an increase of 27.5 percent over the same period of
2006, according to Chinese customs authorities.
Mandelson began his fifth visit to China on Friday since he
became EU Trade Commissioner in late 2004. He is scheduled to meet
Chinese trade officials and representatives from European
businesses operating in the country.
His frequent trips to China highlight the increasingly closer
ties between the EU and China, one of the fastest-growing economies
in the world, although they still have some differences over trade
issues.
Citing the trade gap between the EU and China as one of his
major concerns, Mandelson said it will take him much time during
the summit to find a solution with his Chinese counterparts.
"This is a development in our trading relationship that both
sides need to take very seriously," he said.
EU exports to China grew by around 20 percent in 2006. Mandelson
said he hoped EU companies could share more of the huge potentials
the Chinese market offers.
Improved access for EU businesses and better protection of
intellectual property rights would remain the issues on the table,
Mandelson said.
In face of a globalized and more competitive world, the EU is
seeking a stronger foreign economic policy to meet challenges
especially from China and India, both the world's fast-growing
economies.
The EU will treat China more as a "normal partner" in their
trade relationship, Mandelson said. "We should make fewer
allowances for China's 'developing' and 'emerging' country status,
" he said.
The trade official stressed the importance of dialogue in
resolving differences. "I do not see a dramatic U-turn away from
dialogue and cooperation as either possible or desirable," he said.
" Protectionism will not help us," he added.
"The EU-China summit will be an important forum for us to
reflect on a number of issues in our relationship, and trade is
vital to that relationship," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2007)
