Mandelson strongly critical of Chinese trade policy
19 Oct '07
3 min read
EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson has lambasted China's trade policy towards the European Union, demanding that the country opens itself up for European goods and services or risk facing a protectionist backlash.
In a private letter sent to European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso - and seen by the BBC - Mr Mandelson called the trade relationship between the two economies "deeply unequal".
He wrote that while the EU has become the largest export market for Chinese manufactured goods, the EU still sells more goods to Switzerland than to the Asian giant.
According to the commissioner, trade is obstructed by tariffs, state subsidies and intellectual property rights not being enforced - something that results in widespread counterfeiting.
He added that this situation is costing European firms billions of euro each year and is causing a huge and growing trade deficit with China, referring to it as a "policy time bomb".
Mr Mandelson went so far as to call China a "juggernaut" that is "to some extent, out of control" and is "procedurally obstructive" wherever dialogue has been set up.
"The Chinese must recognize the political realities and play their part in providing reciprocal openness for European investment and trade," a commission trade spokesperson said on Thursday (18 October) when asked about the letter.
"It's clear we had some success with the Chinese in terms of specific policy areas, but it's also true that the process has been frustratingly slow," he added.
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