Nation a vita market for Europe

蘇珊

China remains a key market for European companies asits economic resilience and large domestic market are vital forthem to stay globally competitive， according to a survey re-leased on 29th August by the China Council for the Promotionof International Trade.

About 19 percent of European companies said that theyhave expanded their production and business scale in China，while 65 percent said that they have maintained their currentoperational scale， the study said.

The survey interviewed nearly 160 European companieson issues related to their business outlook， investment climateand market conditions in the first half of 2022.

The vast majority of European multinationals are confi-dent in the prospects of the Chinese market， said Sun Xiao，spokesman for the Beijing-based CCPIT.

For instance， European aircraft manufacturer Airbus SElaunched a new research center in Suzhou， Jiangsu province，in June， to focus on research for its futuristic hydrogen-pow-ered aircraft. German chemical group BASF SE gave thegreen light for the construction of its planned Verbund sitechemical production project in Zhanjiang， Guangdong prov-ince， in July.

In addition to implementing a new negative list for for-eign investment to further broaden market access， the govern-ment abolished， revised or enacted 520 regulations to improvethe legal environment for foreign investment. The governmentalso ramped up efforts to ensure the legitimate rights and in-terests of foreign businesses， the Ministry of Commerce said lastweek.

China's advantages， including a complete industrial system，a lucrative market， social stability， and positive long- term eco-nomic fundamentals， as well as the smooth operation of China-Europe freight train services， have created a solid foundation forthe growth of European companies， said Sang Baichuan， dean ofthe Institute of International Economy at the University of Interna-tional Business and Economics in Beijing.

Trade between China and the European Union grew by 8.9percent on a yearly basis t0 3.23 trillion yuan （$466.79 billion） inthe first seven months of 2022， statistics from the General Admin-istration of Customs showed.

Meanwhile， as this year marks the 30th anniversary of the es-tablishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Repub-lic of Korea， Sun， spokesman of the CCPIT， stressed that the eco-nomic and trade cooperation between the two countries is highlycomplementary and has huge potential.

"Against the backdrop of multiple risks such as internation-al geopolitical conflicts， slowing global economic growth， contin-ued spread of the epidemic and anti-globalization， companiesfrom the two sides should jointly maintain the stability of industri-al and supply chains， maintain regional market opening， andstrengthen anti-epidemic cooperation，"said Sun， who is also thesecretary-general of the China Chamber of International Com-merce.

With China and the ROK making substantial progress on thesecond phase of their free trade agreement negotiations， Sun saidthat business communities of the two countries have broad pros-pects for cooperation in economy and trade， especially in the ar-eas of the digital and marine economy， green innovation and in-dustrial and supply chains.

Ko Kwang-ho， president of the China unit of Seoul-head-quartered Korean Air Co， the largest airline by fleet size in theROK， said the company expects to expand routes between Chinaand the ROK， upgrade services and expand cooperation with Chi-nese airlines in the coming years.

中國國際貿易促進委員會8月29日發布的一項調研顯示，歐洲跨國公司持續看好中國市場，中國經濟發展的韌性以及國內大市場對歐洲跨國公司保持強大的吸引力。

中國貿促會的調研顯示，19%的在華歐洲企業表示擴大了現有生產業務規模，65%表示維持了生產業務規模。

中國貿促會就2022年上半年的商業前景、投資環境和市場狀況等問題采訪了近160家歐洲跨國企業。

中國貿促會新聞發言人孫曉表示，絕大部分歐洲跨國企業對中國市場前景充滿信心。

例如，6月份，空中客車中國研發中心落戶江蘇蘇州，專注于氫動力飛機的研究。7月份，德國化工集團巴斯夫公司決定在廣東湛江建設一體化基地項目。

除了實施新的外資準入負面清單，進一步擴大外資市場準入，還廢除、修訂、頒布了520項條例，優化外商投資法律制度。商務部上周表示，將加大對外商投資合法權益的保護力度。

對外經濟貿易大學國際經濟研究院院長桑百川表示，中國具有完整的工業體系，市場巨大、社會穩定，具有長期向好的經濟基礎，以及中歐班列的順利運行，這些優勢為歐洲跨國公司在華發展奠定了堅實的基礎。

海關總署統計數據顯示，2022年前7個月，中國與歐盟的貿易額同比增長8.9%，達3.23萬億元。

今年是中韓建交30周年，中國貿促會新聞發言人、中國國際商會秘書長孫曉強調，兩國經貿合作互補性強，潛力巨大。

孫曉稱：“在國際地緣政治沖突、世界經濟增長放緩、疫情持續蔓延、逆‘全球化等多重風險交織疊加的背景下，中韓兩國企業應共同維護產業鏈供應鏈穩定，保持區域市場開放，加強抗疫合作。……