EU, China To Hold Trade & Economic Talks

The European Commission is to hold a fourth High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue (HED) with China this week.

The talks will take place in Brussels on October 24, and will cover trade and investment issues, customs cooperation, the challenges facing the international economy, and future sources of growth. The HED will be co-chaired by the Commission's Vice President Oli Rehn, its Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, and the Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai.

De Gucht said of the meeting: "Trade ties are at the heart of our bilateral relationship. But as the interdependence of our two economies increases, tensions can arise. This meeting will be an important opportunity to discuss how to work better together to identify and diffuse potential areas of friction before they impact on our economic and trade relations."

Attendees will also prepare for a forthcoming summit between the European Union (EU) and China, where both sides expect to be able to launch negotiations for an investment agreement. EU trade ministers last week authorized the opening of these talks, and have expressed their hope that an agreement will improve EU access to the Chinese market and provide greater investment protection. They want to see negotiations completed no less than two and a half years after they have started.

Over EUR1bn (USD1.4bn) is traded between the EU and China each day. The current level of bilateral investment is however regarded as too low by the EU. EU companies invested EUR9.9bn in China in 2012, with Chinese FDO into the EU amounting to EUR3.5bn. China accounts for just 2.1 percent of overall EU FDI. By contrast, 30 percent of the EU's stocks are located in the US.

Source: Tax News