Speeches of Vice Premier LIU He and Vice President of the European Commission Jyrki Katainen at the Press Conference of the Seventh China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue

Handshake between Liu He, Chinese Vice Premier and head of the Chinese Delegation, on the right, and Jyrki Katainen. © European Union , 2018 / Source: EC – Audiovisual Service.

This article is brought to you in collaboration with the Chinese Mission to EUChinese Mission to EU.

Dear friends from the press,

Good afternoon!

Vice President Jyrki Katainen and I co-presided over the 7th China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue this morning. The two sides had in-depth, pragmatic, efficient and productive discussions. The Dialogue is indeed a success. Observing the theme of “Supporting and promoting globalization, deepening and expanding China-EU cooperation”, the two sides discussed a broad range of topics of mutual interest and reached a succession of outcomes and consensus. The Dialogue makes a good preparation for the economic and trade agenda of the 20th China-EU Summit.

The Dialogue was held against a very special backdrop when unilateralism and trade protectionism is on the rise and tensions appear in the economic relations between major countries. Both sides agreed to firmly oppose unilateralism and protectionism and prevent such practices from impacting the world economy or even dragging the world economy into recession. The two sides committed to defend the multilateral trading system that is centered on the WTO and based on rules, to promote economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, beneficial to all, balanced, mutually-beneficial and win-win to reform the multilateral trading system and keep it advancing with the times, and to improve the global institutions for economic governance. China believes that all these are in great alignment with the roadmap and timetable of China’s reform and opening-up drive.

The two sides affirmed the positive progress achieved in the negotiations on China-EU Investment Agreement and sought to exchange the offer during the 20th China-EU Summit. The two sides agreed to have the 17th round of negotiations on Geographical Indications Agreement, reach a consensus on the conclusion of negotiations and announce the development at the 20th China-EU Summit.

The two sides exchanged views on the topic of China’s accession to the Government Procurement Agreement and agreed to work together to accelerate the accession process. The two sides agreed to promote market access for agricultural produce and the reciprocal mutual recognition of the certification of organic products. The EU agreed to accelerate the legislative process and formulate a timetable on recognizing the qualification of Chinese certification authorities.

The two sides agreed to continue connecting the Belt and Road Initiative to Europe’s development strategies, promote the positive progress in areas of China-EU Connectivity Platform and China-EU Co-investment Fund, and further the practical cooperation in areas of digital economy, e-commerce, circular economy, and white pollution prevention. The two sides forged a consensus that documents in relation to climate change and the co-investment fund will be signed at the 20th China-EU Summit. The two sides are committed to making the events of China-Europe Tourism Year a great success.

The two sides decided to strengthen financial cooperation. The two sides agreed to pay attention to and work to solve the market access issues facing businesses of both sides and voiced their commitment to trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and creating a convenient and enabling environment for businesses. China hopes that the EU will take practical measures to take substantial steps to relax export control against China.

The two sides had candid exchanges of views on the Report on China’s Market Environment released by the EU and had in-depth discussions on the issue of excess capacity. The Chinese side believed that the fundamental reason to excess capacity is the contraction of aggregate global demand caused by the international financial crisis, and China adopted voluntary measures to increase domestic demand which contributed to stabilizing the world economic growth. Excess capacity is a global challenge, and China stands ready to work with relevant countries in finding a reasonable solution.

We live in an age of great changes, an age in great need of thought and wisdom, as well as solid work and concrete actions. The human being is faced with many common challenges, particularly climate change, deteriorating environment, aging population, cyber-security, terrorism and the double-edged technology revolution. No single country is able to tackle these challenges on its own. Countries of different political systems and cultures shall accommodate, understand, and respect each other, observe the spirit of contract and make collective endeavor to tackle all the known and unknown challenges. Countries shall work together to build a community with shared future for mankind and safeguard the lasting peace of the world. China highly appreciates the professionalism and partnership spirit of Vice President Jyrki Katainen and EU colleagues. Wholeheartedly I hope that China and the EU will stand out as epitome of inclusive, mutual-learning, mutually beneficial and cooperative relationship.

Thank you.