Top Biz News

Services sector reform a top EUCTP priority

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-30 07:46

EUCTP expert Huang Danhan pointed to the services sector where the greatest untapped opportunities exist.

Under its WTO GATS commitment, China agreed to substantially open a broad range of service sectors to foreign competition and eliminate market access barriers.

The EUCTP's job was to target priority tasks to accelerate the liberalization of the service sectors in China, referencing the EU's experience in services liberalization and regulation.

"Financial services in particular have been a priority both for the EUCTP and other dedicated EU projects. Support for regulatory reform in China's banking, insurance and securities sectors have supported legislative revisions, for example, the Chinese Insurance Law," said Services Expert Huang. "Training was also given to hundreds of regulators from the banking, insurance and securities authorities in China, in fields such as corporate governance, financial innovation, treasury management and many others. These trainings have contributed to a better understanding among Chinese regulators of European and international practices".

Service related trade contributes to 70 percent of the EU's GDP, yet only 40 percent of China's GDP. As services make up a significant and growing share of the world economy, there is great potential for China to further develop its services sector.

Yin Weijing added that: "Other EUCTP work in the services arena has supported China's reform efforts in sectors such as civil aviation, telecommunications, postal, construction, distribution and urban planning, all having addressed challenges faced during the Chinese regulatory reform process."

"The bottom line," Li Zhongzhou explained, "is that services liberalization is good for China's own domestic market and ability to compete in international markets. Further services liberalization will also create opportunities for European services operators."