Lavender oil from Upper Provence, Scotch whisky, blood orange from Sicily, Italy，And Shaoxing wine, Lu 'an melon slices, Anxi Tieguanyin...These geographical indication products have long been well-known and household names in China and the EU，With the recent signing of the Agreement on Geographical Indications between China and the EU，Will receive a higher level of protection，Benefiting thousands of businesses，And enrich the market supply of both sides，Enhance consumer well-being。At the same time, the signing of the Agreement also provides new opportunities for expanding bilateral trade and helps to create new driving forces for China-Eu trade。
Recently, after more than eight years of difficult negotiations, China and the EU officially signed the Agreement on Geographical Indications.。This is the first comprehensive and high-level geographical indication agreement signed by China, and the first major trade agreement between China and the EU in recent years。Liu Huaqin, director of the Eurasian Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said in an interview with the Economic Daily reporter that the amount of product protection involved in the Agreement, the rich variety and the high level of treatment are unprecedented, and it has become a milestone of economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe。
Deepen China-Eu economic and trade cooperation
In order to strengthen the protection and cooperation of geographical indications between China and the EU and promote trade in geographical indication products, China and the EU launched negotiations on the Agreement on geographical Indications in 2011。After eight years and 22 rounds of formal negotiations and several rounds of informal consultations, China and the EU announced the conclusion of the negotiations at the end of 2019。Since then, China and the EU have carried out their respective legal procedures for authorized signature。On September 14 this year, the two sides officially signed the Agreement on Geographical Indications.。
A person in charge of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Commerce said that China and Europe have a long history and rich geographical indication resources, and there is broad space for cooperation。The signing of the Agreement will further promote the development of bilateral trade in geographical indication products, expand the scale of China-Eu trade, and further consolidate the economic and trade foundation of China-Eu comprehensive strategic partnership。
It is understood that the Agreement includes 14 articles and 7 appendices, mainly stipulating the protection rules of geographical indications and the list of mutual recognition of geographical indications。According to the Agreement, geographical indications included in the Agreement will enjoy a high level of protection and may use, among other things, the official geographical indications of both parties。The appendix of the Agreement includes a total of 275 geographical indication products from each side, involving alcohol, tea, agricultural products and food。Protection will be carried out in two batches: the first batch of 100 geographical indications mutually recognized by both parties will be protected from the date of entry into force of the Agreement;The second batch of 175 geographical indications will complete the relevant protection procedures within four years after the entry into force of the Agreement。
"This year coincides with the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the EU, and the signing of the high-level cooperation agreement marks a new stage of China-Eu economic and trade cooperation, demonstrating the confidence of both sides to further open their markets and promote free trade.。Liu Huaqin stressed that the Agreement reflects the firm position of China and the EU in supporting the rules-based multilateral trading system and provides an important guarantee for deepening China-Eu economic and trade cooperation。
Geographical indication is an important sign indicating the origin of a product and is an important type of intellectual property。Liu Huaqin said that the Agreement stipulates the rules for the protection of geographical indications and the list of mutual recognition of geographical indications, which provides legal guarantee for preventing counterfeiting and forgery of geographical indication products, thus helping to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, enhance the transparency of trade rules, and provide important legal support for improving the bilateral trade environment。
Liu Zuokui, director and researcher of the Central and Eastern European Research Office of the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences，The signing of the Agreement shows the determination of China and the EU to work together to promote high-quality and high-level trade cooperation，It also means that the two sides have taken another solid step in trade cooperation，It is through active consultations between China and the EU in the face of difficulties，Properly resolve differences，Finally form a win-win cooperation model case。
Provide new opportunities for China-Eu trade
In the first eight months of this year, trade between China and Europe fell by 3 percent year on year due to the COVID-19 epidemic.6%。"Under such circumstances, expanding market opening and driving economic growth are the common aspirations of both sides.。"Liu Huaqin said。The signing of the Agreement will facilitate the entry of products using the official geographical indication into each other's markets, providing new opportunities for expanding bilateral trade and helping to create new driving forces for China-Eu trade。
"The Agreement provides new business opportunities for businesses, which in turn increases the sense of gain for consumers。Liu Huaqin said that the mutual recognition of geographical indications is a well-known and household name product of both sides, which is closely related to the daily life of consumers。This will enable more EU enterprises and consumers to know more about China's famous and special products, such as Shaoxing wine, Liu 'an Guava Slice, Anxi Tieguanyin, Helan Mountain Eastern foot wine, and help Chinese enterprises to explore the EU market。
In addition, the Agreement will also increase the protection of the interests of EU manufacturers, eliminate their concerns, and promote more high-quality EU consumer goods, such as European champagne, Bavarian beer, Parma ham, and Magina Mountain olive oil, to enter the Chinese market。The 550 mutually recognized geographical indications benefit thousands of products and enterprises, enriching the supply of both markets and enhancing the well-being of consumers。
In addition, the Agreement will promote people-to-people exchanges。Geographical indication products have regional and certain cultural connotations, such as rice paper, Shu brocade, etc. The trade of such commodities can enhance the cultural exchanges between the two sides, promote the development of travel services and educational services, and create favorable conditions for the comprehensive expansion of China-Eu economic and trade cooperation。
Protection and cooperation will advance steadily
In recent years, with the rise of Chinese consumers' demand for quality consumption, many products with a good reputation abroad have entered the Chinese market。Lavender oil from Upper Provence, Scotch whisky, blood orange from Sicily...More and more geographical indication products are known to the Chinese people。
Data show that in 2019, China's imports of consumer goods exceeded 1.4 trillion yuan, an increase of nearly 20%, accounting for more than 10% of total imports。China has become the world's largest importer of dairy products, pork, cotton, wine and other products。
At the second China International Import Expo held last year, the international sales director of a Greek dairy company said that the company was pleased to see the agreement reached, which means that the two sides will strengthen the protection of products of origin, which is conducive to preventing counterfeit and shoddy products。
According to EU official statistics, China is the EU's second largest export destination for agricultural products, the EU's fourth largest source of agricultural imports, and one of the core markets for European geographical indication products。
The signing of the Agreement will undoubtedly enable more EU products to enter the Chinese market, so that Chinese consumers can eat and use genuine and high-quality goods。At the same time, the agreement can give European consumers a better understanding of Chinese products。Many geographical indication products in China are produced in economically underdeveloped areas。Promoting high-quality agricultural products from deep in the mountains to the world is conducive to poverty alleviation and income increase, and inject new growth momentum into low-income areas。
It is reported that China and the EU will follow the entry into force procedures of the Agreement in accordance with their respective laws and regulations, so that the Agreement will benefit Chinese and EU businesses and people as soon as possible。The two sides will also steadily advance the mutual recognition of the second batch of geographical indication products in accordance with the relevant arrangements of the Agreement, so as to protect more geographical indications between China and the EU。
Source: Economic Daily
Source: Economic Daily