At an international forum held here Wednesday, a leading trade expert expressed his optimism about furthering trade between China and the European Union ,a >EU) in the 21st century.
Tong Jiadong, director of the EU Research Center in Tianjin- based Nankai University, said that although the current Sino-EU trade volume is still limited, several factors will help boost trade between the two parties in the near future.
Tong said, China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) will help bring Chinese trade policies in line with international standards in order to eliminate trade barriers and disputes.
China's steady economic growth will attract more direct investment from EU countries. Tong hinted a bright future for reinforcing Sino-EU cooperation in terms of investment and technology transfer.
The professor also called for EU countries to eliminate non- tariff barriers.
Statistics show that the Sino-EU trade volume totaled 2.4 billion US dollars when the two parties established diplomatic ties in 1975. The figure had reached 40.34 billion US dollars by 1995.
(Xinhua News Agency 10/11/2001)
