Joerg Wuttke, president of European Chamber of Commerce in China, says the Chinese government's economic reforms have won recognition among a majority of the chamber's members.
Wuttke has made the suggestion while outlining the Chamber's annual business climate report.
"In the Chinese government's decision in 2013, part of the final decision is the addition of a roadmap until 2020. Of course, it actually is taking into consideration that most of the reform steps have made progress. The majority of members signaled that some achievements have been done in the reform. Ten percent of the members believe the target has been basically achieved and important plans have been worked out in certain areas."
The report offers advice to Chinese policy-makers based on surveys conducted by the European Chamber's 18-hundred members.
Addressing specific reforms, E.U. Chamber President Joerg Wuttke says some progress had been made in areas such as streamlining government administration.
"The reduction of government approval procedures has a massive influence on how operations (of European companies) are conducted and how investments are made. The second is the expansion of pension and health care insurance coverage, which is very important for Chinese citizens and the stability of the system. The third part is the budget and local debt reform. We saw the establishment of special IPR courts which is of course very important. The good news is the foreign investment catalogue is shortened."
Joerg Wuttke also says the progress made in the negotiations connected to a China-EU bilateral investment agreement suggests both sides understand the importance of working together.
"The EU-China comprehensive agreement on investment is to us the most important economic key opening market access and also for the Chinese vital in how to safeguard China's investments in the largest economy of the world – the European Union. So we want this agreement to have a robust market access, real benefits for European businesses as well as for the consumers of China. Second a very strong investors-state dispute settlement mechanism that is vital for us as well as for the Chinese investors coming to Europe. And third, stronger transparency in improving regulatory environment means the rule of law."
Despite sluggish growth prospects in China in the months ahead, of the European companies with research centers in China, over 4-in-5 of them say they're likely to increase their presence in China in the near future.
The overall message of the new EU Chamber report suggests the government should stick to its reform plans to ensure a successful rebalancing of the economy.
For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.
