EU study sees China opportunities
China holds out enormous opportunities for European exporters of green technology, high-value goods and business services, a European Union study said on Tuesday. The new study, supported by the European Commission, identified major opportunities for EU exporters after an assessment of the expanding market in China.
According to the study, China's middle class is expected to reach 150 million by 2010, which means new opportunities for EU companies in consumer goods. The study estimated that the
Chinese market for high-value goods will be worth 1 trillion euros (more than US$1.3 trillion) three years later.
The study also found that the Chinese service sector is set to be on a fast track for growth, and its market size may expand to 500 billion euros by 2010. This represents a new opportunity for EU providers of business-to-business services, the study said.
Since the Chinese government is committed to a sustainable economic growth pattern, which is strongly focused on environmental protection, the need for green technologies and services is another big opportunity for EU exporters. The market is estimated to be worth 98 billion euros by 2010.
The study advised that EU companies should be present in China to catch those opportunities.
EU companies wanting to compete on price in the Chinese economy will need to produce goods in China itself to be cost-competitive, the study said.
Actually, successful European companies are already diversifying into China-based manufacturing where they want to compete in China. Many new European companies establishing production in China now are doing so not as an alternative to EU-based production but to compete in the Chinese market.
While acknowledging China's efforts to liberalize its economy, however, the study raised some concerns over market access, urging China to do more in protecting intellectual property and removing non-tariff barriers. Chinese non-tariff barriers cost EU operators no less than 21.4 billion euros a year in lost business opportunities, the study claimed.
The new study took a similar position as embodied in the new strategy for EU-China trade released by the European Commission in October, which set out a wide-ranging new policy for building the EU's trade and investment relationship with China.
The strategy review argued that both China and Europe have benefited from China's economic rise, despite the competitive pressure it has exerted in the global economy. By pointing out the room for improvement, the strategy gave an overall encouraging picture of the Chinese market, which was said to be full of opportunities, but also with challenges.
The study also found that the Chinese service sector is set to be on a fast track for growth, and its market size may expand to 500 billion euros by 2010. This represents a new opportunity for EU providers of business-to-business services, the study said.
Since the Chinese government is committed to a sustainable economic growth pattern, which is strongly focused on environmental protection, the need for green technologies and services is another big opportunity for EU exporters. The market is estimated to be worth 98 billion euros by 2010.
The study advised that EU companies should be present in China to catch those opportunities.
EU companies wanting to compete on price in the Chinese economy will need to produce goods in China itself to be cost-competitive, the study said.
Actually, successful European companies are already diversifying into China-based manufacturing where they want to compete in China. Many new European companies establishing production in China now are doing so not as an alternative to EU-based production but to compete in the Chinese market.
While acknowledging China's efforts to liberalize its economy, however, the study raised some concerns over market access, urging China to do more in protecting intellectual property and removing non-tariff barriers. Chinese non-tariff barriers cost EU operators no less than 21.4 billion euros a year in lost business opportunities, the study claimed.
The new study took a similar position as embodied in the new strategy for EU-China trade released by the European Commission in October, which set out a wide-ranging new policy for building the EU's trade and investment relationship with China.
The strategy review argued that both China and Europe have benefited from China's economic rise, despite the competitive pressure it has exerted in the global economy. By pointing out the room for improvement, the strategy gave an overall encouraging picture of the Chinese market, which was said to be full of opportunities, but also with challenges.
