EU to call on China for further reforms

The EU is to publish a policy paper on Tuesday calling for China to further open up its economy to foreign investment and convince trading partners that it is not an economic threat, Reuters reported. "We need to address the protectionist voices in Europe," one EU official said. The paper is to come out just before EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson visits China to prepare the ground for negotiations in January for a new partnership agreement on trade and investment issues. EU member nations remain interested in China's consumer potential and low-cost manufacturing opportunities but there are fears that cheap Chinese exports are running European firms out of business. The paper will call on Beijing to move away from export dependency and spur domestic demand as well as air concerns about limits on foreign ownership in China, counterfeiting and lack of access to the country's public procurement market.