The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the European Union has published the "CCCEU 2020 Recommendation Report - Acting for Common Future".
The Report includes a summary of China-Europe trade relations from the perspective of Chinese companies active in the European market and contains some recommendations for European institutions to help improve the EU business environment and attract more Chinese investments.
Among the recommendations indicated:
pay more attention to exchange opportunities between young Chinese and European professionals
avoid politicization of issues related to cybersecurity and discriminatory treatments
strengthen multilateralism and continue the process of implementing the China-Europe Investment Treaty with a view to creating the basis for a future free trade agreement
facilitate the involvement of Chinese companies in European public consultations to align technical and regulatory standards and collaborate on the digital and ecological transition.
The Report indicates that Chinese companies have a less favorable view of the European business environment, with a total score that drops from 73 points in 2019 to 70 points in 2020. While recognizing an improvement compared to 2019 in the infrastructural and research and development environmental aspects, 68% of Chinese companies surveyed believe the EU has tightened its trade policy towards China and 55% said they had more difficulty in hiring European workers. Nonetheless, Chinese companies intend to continue investing in the European market and between 2013 and 2019 their presence increased at an annual growth rate of 10%, much faster than American or Japanese companies (which grew by 1-7 %).
Among the main difficulties expressed by Chinese companies in Europe are the complex procedures applicable to non-EU investors, such as antitrust review, foreign investment screening, and foreign subsidy review , which have been nicknamed by some Chinese companies "The three mountains". Another element reported is the different evaluation criteria applied in the EU member states, which may greatly reduce the certainty of transactions and affect the delivery schedule as enterprises have to make more than one declaration.
Press office
Silk Council