EU manufacturers reject Xi Jinping’s strategy to bend market economy rules
/Brussels, 21/10/2015 - AEGIS Europe, the manufacturing alliance of 30 European industry associations express skepticism at Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarks to the media during London visit.
AEGIS Europe called into question Mr Xi’s comments to the media about China’s orientation towards a more open and transparent market. “Europeans should be very concerned at China’s approach to its economy. Mr Xi’s notions about China ‘doing things its way’ suggest he does not believe in the internationally recognised understanding of what constitutes a ‘market economy’”, said Milan Nitzschke, spokesperson for AEGIS Europe.
“During the last five years China has doubled subsidies to its industry, and is financing loss-making massive dumping in export markets which has already cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the EU and in its main trading partners including the US, Japan, India and Turkey. In addition China is still restricting access to its own market and defining domestic market shares in five-year-plans.”, added Mr Nitzschke.
The Chinese President’s visit casts a spotlight on how Europe cannot hope to compete against a distorted market system. EU and national-level policy makers in the EU must take a realistic, clear-headed approach to China, and should not jettison core economic, social and environmental values in the narrow pursuit of foreign investment.
Mr Nitzschke warned, “Mr Xi is making his message to Europe very clear: a free market without trade rules is good for Chinese manufacturers. However, based on evidence from recent landmark studies, AEGIS Europe believes that the dumping of Chinese products in Europe endangers the livelihoods of the millions of people working in European manufacturing. Given that manufacturing forms the backbone of the European economy, this represents a significant long-term threat.”
“We expect – and hope – that China will begin to operate according to WTO rules and fully comply with internationally accepted trade practices which exist to ensure free and fair trade, and to secure a level playing field for all global players. China must absolutely play by these rules.” Mr Nitzschke concluded.
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