The EU-China Chamber of Commerce calls on the EU to prioritize the use of dialogue and consultation mechanisms

Recently, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the EU responded to the European Commission’s launch of the first International Procurement Instrument (IPI) investigation into China’s public procurement of medical equipment, calling on the EU to prioritize the use of dialogue and consultation mechanisms to properly handle the problem.

It is understood that the Official Journal of the European Union recently issued a notice stating that the European Commission will, in accordance with the Regulation on the access of third-country economic operators, goods and services to the Union’s public procurement and concession markets and on procedures to support the negotiation of access to the public procurement and concession markets of third countries, A nine-month survey was conducted on the public procurement aspects of China’s medical equipment sector. The EU-China Chamber of Commerce is deeply disappointed and calls on the EU to use unilateral tools prudently and give priority to dialogue and consultation mechanisms.

The EU-China Chamber of Commerce believes that the EU's investigation should be based on comprehensive and objective facts. The European side may not have enough understanding of China’s latest policies to ensure equal participation of domestic and foreign-funded enterprises in government procurement and actively promote investment matching in the medical field. For example, in October 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and six other departments jointly issued the "Several Policies and Measures on Promoting the Expansion of Foreign Investment, Stabilizing the Stock and Improving the Quality with a Focus on Manufacturing", which proposed that it is necessary to ensure that foreign-invested enterprises enjoy equal enjoyment in accordance with laws and regulations. National industrial development and regional development and other supporting policies ensure that foreign-invested enterprises enjoy equal treatment in bidding, government procurement and other aspects. Organize investment promotion activities such as investment promotion and docking for key industrial chains such as medical care. In August 2023, the "Opinions of the State Council on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Increasing Attraction of Foreign Investment" emphasized the need to "guarantee national treatment for foreign-invested enterprises" and in terms of government procurement, "guarantee that foreign-invested enterprises participate in government procurement in accordance with the law" Activities. Introduce relevant policies and measures as soon as possible to further clarify the specific standards for 'production in China'. Research and innovate cooperative procurement methods, and support foreign-invested enterprises to innovate and develop world-leading products in my country through measures such as first purchase orders."

In March 2024, China's Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min mentioned at a press conference that in recent years, the Ministry of Finance has actively participated in building a first-class business environment and has made some positive progress. In government procurement, products and services produced and provided by domestic and foreign-funded enterprises in China will be treated equally, and regulations and practices that differentiate between domestic and foreign-funded enterprises will be reviewed and rectified. At the same time, we focus on communicating with foreign investors and enterprises, and actively solve the practical difficulties and problems they encounter in government procurement, enterprise-related taxes and fees, etc. China has special relevant mechanisms and will promptly investigate and deal with information after receiving it.In April 2024, the "Fair Competition Review Rules in the Bidding Field" jointly issued by eight departments including the National Development and Reform Commission clearly stated that business entities shall not be required to establish branches in the region, pay taxes and social security, or form a consortium with business entities in the region ; It is not allowed to use different credit evaluation standards for the qualifications, qualifications, performance, etc. of operating entities in different regions or ownership forms; it is not allowed to set differential scores based on the origin of the products bid by operating entities.

The EU-China Chamber of Commerce noted that in terms of government public procurement, China and the EU continue to communicate on issues related to China's accession to the World Trade Organization's "Government Procurement Agreement" and the revision of the Government Procurement Law. Channels for dialogue are always open. China and the EU have many mechanisms to properly handle the demands of European companies participating in China's public procurement. China's policies on promoting fair competition review rules in the field of tendering and bidding and actively attracting foreign investment are obvious to all, and the majority of European companies have also benefited a lot from China's public procurement. .The EU-China Chamber of Commerce believes that European IPI has been highly targeted from the beginning. A survey of 180 Chinese companies and institutions in Europe by the EU-China Chamber of Commerce in 2023 showed that 21% of the companies surveyed were very concerned about the impact of IPI on negative impact on business operations. At the same time, IPI also emphasized the importance of dialogue and consultation with third-country governments. The EU-China Chamber of Commerce calls on the European side to regard dialogue and consultation as a higher priority solution in the field of medical equipment, rather than resorting to unilateral measures at every turn, thereby affecting the business environment for Chinese companies in Europe.

The EU-China Chamber of Commerce also pointed out that some Chinese companies have reported that some high-end European medical devices are not allowed to be exported to China due to dual-use military and civilian reasons. Chinese companies hope that the European side will relax relevant restrictions in this field and effectively promote relevant economic and trade exchanges.In addition, on April 24, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded to questions from relevant media at a regular press conference. In recent times, the EU has frequently used economic and trade toolboxes and trade remedy measures, sending protectionist signals and targeting It's a Chinese company, and it's the EU's image that's being damaged. The EU has always claimed to be the most open market in the world, but what the outside world has seen is that the EU is moving towards protectionism step by step. China urges the EU to abide by its commitment to market opening and the principle of fair competition, abide by WTO rules, and stop using various excuses to unreasonably suppress and restrict the development of Chinese companies in Europe.