In a speech at Renmin University in Beijing , EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has called on China to move to meet its outstanding WTO commitments or risk a backlash in Europe against its perceived trading power.
Arguing that Europe for its part had to have "the confidence to welcome China's economic resurgence", Mandelson also insisted that if China did not provide better access for EU investment and trade, improved protection of intellectual property rights and the dismantling of export incentives and other forms of trade-distorting subsidy, it would provoke a negative protectionist response in Europe.
Mandelson argued: "China is destined to enjoy a pivotal role in the world economy for decades to come. But economic leadership also brings with it responsibilities - to respect and support open markets, to apply rather than circumvent the rules and, above all, to ensure that the benefits of open markets are shared by all".
Mandelson continued: "Economically both sides have to commit to openness. In Europe that means resisting the pressures for protectionism. In China, it means China living up to its WTO responsibilities to allow full and genuine market access for European goods and services, freedom to invest, and protection for the rights of European companies."
Mandelson said that China can help shape Europe's perception of its rise by "opening its market to outside goods and services; strengthening legal protection for foreign companies and avoiding anti-competitive trading practices and regulations".
Mandelson concluded: "We need to see what we are doing as shaping a grand bargain. The more the Chinese door swings open and the world sees a responsible China playing by the rules, the more our ordinary citizens will be able to see and understand China's potential and our shared interest in deepening our relationship".
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