EU Investment in China -Challenges and Possibilities
Dirk MoensSecretary General
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
Strategic importance
Declining� in importance
Same level� of importance
Increasingly� important
IMPORTANCE OF CHINA IN COMPANIES' OVERALL GLOBAL STRATEGY
74%
23%
3%
Increasing investment
CONTEMPLATING NEW INVESTMENTS
39%
41%
59%
52%
48%
61%
63%
37%63% plan to make new investments in China in
the next two years
71% set China as a top 3 destination for future
investments
Regulatory barriers
GOVERNMENT POLICY TRENDS AFFECTING FIEs OVER LAST 2 YEARS
No Opinion27%
Fairer13%
Same18%
Less Fair42%
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE OF REGULATORY BARRIERS
No52%
Yes48%
Shifting investment
COMPANIES CONSIDERING MOVING INVESTMENTS OUTSIDE PRC
No78%
Yes 22%
Unequal by design
STATE-LED PROMOTION OF DOMESTIC INDUSTRY
Unequal access
UNEQUAL MARKET ACCESS IS COMPOUNDED BY UNEQUAL ACCESS IN OTHER AREAS
Real Equal Real Equal TreatmentTreatment
MarketMarketAccessAccess
Restricted market access
SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO MARKET ACCESS FOR FOREIGN-INVESTED ENTERPRISES
Bilateral investment
Source: Rhodium Group: China Invests in Europe
FDI FLOWS ALLOW FOR LARGE SCALE IMPROVEMENTS
From EU = 2%
From China= 3.5%
EU FDI INFLOWS CHINA FDI INFLOWS
Chinese investment
Source: Rhodium Group: China Invests in Europe
ABSOLUTE VALUES REMAIN SMALL COMPARED TO TOTAL FDI STOCK, BUT THERE IS A REAL CHANGE IN THE TREND LINE
SOEs account
for 2/3 of investmen
t value
"Treaty"/ "Agreement"
MUST BE A STAND-ALONE AGREEMENT THAT GOES SUBSTANTIALLY BEYOND THE EXISTING BITs
Consolidation of the 26 existing BITs is of
more interest to China
Consider Investment Realities
Require a commitment from
China to discuss adding pre-
establishment national treatment within negotiations prior to granting a
formal mandate for negotiations
Post-establishment national treatment
&Pre-establishment national treatment
Potential areas for opening
PRE-ESTABLISHMENT NATIONAL TREATMENT MUST SERVE TO SUBSTANTIALLY OPEN ACCESS, BUT MUST BE REALISTIC
Protection provisions
REMAINING IMPORTANCE OF THE VARIOUS CONVENTIONAL INVESTMENT PROTECTION PROVISIONS
Grandfathering clause
Thank you
http://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/chamber-publications
Dirk MoensSecretary General