Beijing, 15 November 2023
The European Chamber recently published its Position Paper 2023/2024, which contains 1,058 recommendations to the Chinese Government, many of which relate to unequal treatment of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in the Chinese market. It is therefore a very positive signal that the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has announced its intention to remove some of the barriers that currently prevent FIEs from competing with Chinese companies on an even footing. The areas that have been outlined for reform in MOFCOM’s letter reflect many of the Chamber’s recommendations, and the level of detail in the examples provided—such as standardising application processes for administrative licences and removing certain limitations on companies’ ownership structure in procurement activities—shows that our recommendations are being carefully read and taken into consideration.
The European Chamber will monitor developments and looks forward to the release of a timeline and more specific implementation guidelines. In the meantime, we will continue to work closely with the MOFCOM to optimise the operating environment for all companies in China.
Source EUCCC: European Chamber statement on MOFCOM Clean-up of Unreasonable Differential Treatment between Domestic and Foreign Investors