EU Warns China of European Trade Backlash

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson delivers a speech during the closing ceremony of a seminar on trademark and copyright protection in Beijing Wednesday, June 7, 2006. The European Union's trade chief Wednesday was expected to press China for increased anti-piracy enforcement and greater market access during meetings with top Chinese officials, amid spats over textiles and shoes. (AP Photo / Jason Lee, pool) (Jason Lee - AP)

BEIJING -- The European Union's trade chief warned Thursday that China will face a backlash in Europe if it doesn't improve market access or better protect intellectual property rights.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said China's growing economic might means that it has greater responsibilities to "apply rather than circumvent the rules."

"The more the Chinese door swings open and the world sees a responsible China playing by the rules, the more our citizens will be able to understand our shared interest in deepening our relationship," Mandelson told students at Renmin University.

Mandelson said both the EU and China have to "commit to openness and resist protectionist pressures."

European and American companies have complained about the volume of pirated goods in China, which they say have cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Despite repeated crackdowns by the Chinese government, counterfeit versions of movies, branded clothes and medicine are still readily available.

Mandelson said China, which joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, needed to live up to its promises of full market access and protection for the rights of foreign companies.

"I am increasingly concerned that this will only be achieved if China shows greater urgency in playing her part," he said.

Mandelson is on a four-day trip to China, which began Monday and included a stop in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in China's prosperous south.

On Wednesday, he met with Commerce Minister Bo Xilai and pushed for improved market access and anti-piracy enforcement.

Mandelson said that intellectual property right was key to relations between the EU and China, which enjoy a vigorous trade relationship. The trade volume between the two sides hit 210 billion euros, or $269 billion, last year.

Mandelson was scheduled to meet later Thursday with Vice Premier Wu Yi, a former trade minister who helped negotiate China's entry WTO entry.