registration system for geographical indications, negotiations relating to the expan-
sion of the scope of products for high-level protection of geographical indications.
These two issues were dealt with mainly by two large opposite coalitions. China and
the EU were part of the same coalition called W52 sponsors.^5 Another coalition was
composed of 10–20 of the New World’s developed economies including the USA,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Both China and the EU held that the multilateral
registration system had to cover all products of geographical indication, and should
not be limited to alcoholic drinks; registration should have a certain legal validity and
apply to all WTO members; both China and the EU required that articles concerning
high-level protection for geographical indications as specified TRIPS should be
extended to all products of geographical indication.^6
Moreover, China and the EU also spoke a common language regarding the trade
facilitation issue since proposals from China and from the EU shared many simi-
larities. In China’s trade policy review in 2012, the EU specially commended
China’s constructive role in negotiations regarding this issue.
6.1.3.2 Disagreements
Though interest appeals and negotiation positions of members were diverse and
intertwined in these negotiations focusing on issues concerning the growth of
developing members, there were many disagreements between China and the EU
which were part of two large forces—developing members and developed members
respectively. The following two aspects are relatively prominent.
First, with respect to setting of the negotiation issues, China and most of the
developing members shared the same position and resolutely opposed inclusion of
the“Singapore issue”into the package of negotiations and did not believe that the
“WTO is an appropriate place for discussing social and environmental issues”.
Second, on the core issue—agriculturalfields, China was a member of the
“developing member agricultural issue 20-country coordination group”(G20). G20
required significant substantial reduction in the trade-distorting domestic support in
agriculture, substantial improvement in access opportunities for the entry of
developing members into developed members, cancellation of all forms of agri-
cultural export subsidies, substantial improvement of special and differential
treatments for developing members, etc. The EU mainly played the role of trade
protectionism with the aim of maintaining high-level protection and support for
(^5) Because the number of proposals jointly submitted by these members was W52. Other members
included Switzerland, India, Brazil and the African Group, etc. Currently, this group has 108 WTO
members, accounting for more than 2/3 of the 153 WTO members.
(^6) See Wan ( 2011 ). Of course, small disagreements still existed, for example, if the multilateral
registration system cannot cover all products of geographical indication, China would not support
legal validity of this system, while even if ultimately this system only covered geographical
indications of alcoholic drinks, the EU would also require relatively high legal validity of this
system.
6 China-EU Relations in the Context of Global Trade Governance 121