BEIJING: China on Saturday tried to downplay concerns it is reducing market access for foreign enterprises, days after a report by an EU group accused Beijing of trying to skew its business playing field towards domestic firms. The paper, released Tuesday by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, slammed the government’s “Made in China 2025” plan—launched two years ago to champion local high-tech manufacturing. While officials have repeatedly said they welcome foreign firms’ investment in China, the country has erected barriers in a wide variety of sectors from automotive to finance while simultaneously subsidizing its own domestic companies. “The government does not yet have this kind of ability to compel state-owned enterprises, how can you say it will compel foreign firms to hand over technology?” Miao said. Miao’s comments were echoed in a commentary by the official Xinhua News Service, which took the chamber to task for its concerns, saying that foreign firms have long enjoyed “super-national treatment,” including “privileges unimaginable to native businesses.”AFP

Source: Manila Times March 11, 2017 12:28 UTC