Brussels reportedly plans to tighten rules against Chinese investments; artificial restrictions to hurt EU economy: expert
Brussels reportedly plans to tighten rules against Chinese investments; artificial restrictions to hurt EU economy: expert
The EU is reportedly planning to tighten its foreign investment rules to ensure that Chinese companies do not gain advantage from the bloc’s open market without generating benefits for local workers and sharing technology. A Chinese expert on Tuesday urged the EU to refrain from adopting artificial restrictions against Chinese investments.
“The revised rules, which are still under discussion, are part of a series of proposals that the European Commission will make next month to bolster Europe’s ailing industrial base and flagging economic growth,” the Financial Times (FT) reported on Monday local time.
An EU official claimed that the legislation would not mention China by name, but given the investment flows from the Asian country into the EU, it was clear what the focus of the legislation would be, according to the FT report.
“Markets should play a decisive role in economic cooperation, while government intervention tends to raise the cost of choices for firms,” Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
At a time when Europe faces inflationary pressures and a rise in protectionism, adopting such restrictive measures would only add uncertainty to the EU’s own economy, Zhou said.
“China and the EU have structural complementarity and share a broad consensus. The focus of bilateral economic and trade cooperation should remain on complementary cooperation and rational consensus, rather than protectionism,” Zhou said, noting that the EU should not to let political, irrational, or ideological factors sway China-EU economic and trade relations, noting that such cooperation is mutually beneficial.
The EU’s series of restrictive measures against Chinese products and companies have already sparked growing concerns about its business environment.
“Uncertainty” remains a defining feature of Chinese enterprises’ operations in Europe, with enterprises calling for a fair, transparent, and predictable market environment to restore confidence and facilitate stable growth, according to a report the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) released earlier this month.
Based on four months of surveys and in-depth interviews with 205 Chinese companies and organizations operating in the EU, the report urged the EU to use the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic ties to implement practical measures that strengthen cooperation, while avoiding an overextension of the “economic security” agenda that could hinder commercial collaboration.
courtesy globaltimes