The European Union will block access for Chinese companies bidding for publicly funded contracts unless businesses from Europe get the same access in China, under new proposals tabled in Brussels as David Cameron held trade talks in Beijing. Over the last eight years, China's public procurement market has tripled reaching a value of over £54 billion, according to The China Business Review magazine.
Karel de Gucht, the European trade commissioner, proposed "a tool whereby we can impose reciprocity" to ensure that China did not discriminate against foreign businesses while awarding government funded contracts.
"Imagine a Chinese company that participates in a bid, and on the other hand the same sector, or sub-sector, of public procurement is not open in China, then we could make an intervention," he said.
