The lack of adequate IPR protection and the leakage of confidential information are hindering technology transfer to China and souring trade relations with European businesses.
So says the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in the latest edition of its annual position paper on EU-China trade relations.
The paper lists a litany of issues that obstruct free trade, many of which will be well known to any western business that has been in China for any time.
The European Chamber bemoans that equal treatment for domestic and foreign companies is "conspicuously absent" in China's public procurement process. It argues that the 50:50 joint venture requirement that helped China get started on its economic development has passed its sell-by date and is now stifling foreign companies ambitions in China.
The paper touches on a familiar complaint among foreign businesses, namely that the enforcement of regulations on Chinese firms is often weaker than that on foreign firms, and the secretive way in which regulations are drafted seems designed to catch western businesses off guard. Consultation procedures are short, typically limited to selected persons or groups and characterised by a"disturbing lack of transparency".
In some sectors, China's technical regulations and certification procedures are being used to limit market access, and in certain cases to push foreign-invested companies out of certain markets altogether.
The services sector continues to be tough for foreign businesses to penetrate because of a "noticeable lack of reform and opening up".
Comments