Q: The GI agreement between China and the EU was signed on September 14 in Beijing. Could you please brief us on the negotiations and the content of the agreement?

Geographical Indications are an important type of intellectual property. China and the EU started to negotiate an agreement on GIs in 2011 in order to strengthen the protection of and cooperation on GIs of both sides and promote trade in GI products. The Chinese negotiating team is led by MOFCOM and consists of the Ministry of Agriculture, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce. After the State Council reshuffling in 2018, the relevant functions of the AQSIQ and SAIC was assigned to the National Intellectual Property Administration. The negotiations therefore were carried on by MOFCOM, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the CNIPA. After 22 rounds of formal negotiations and multiple informal talks in eight years, China and the EU announced the completion of the negotiations in the end of 2019. Since then, the two sides have gone through the legal procedure for signature of the deal. On September 14, 2020, at the EU-China leaders’ meeting via video conference, Minister Zhong Shan and Clemens von Goetze, Germany’s Ambassador to China, and Nicolas Chapuis, EU Ambassador to China signed the agreement.

The agreement includes 14 articles and seven annexes, laying out the rules of GI protection and the list of mutual recognition, among others. According to the agreement, the GIs listed in the agreement will enjoy a high-level protection and be able to use each other’s official symbols. It protects 275 European GIs in China and 275 Chinese GIs in the EU, including wines, teas, agricultural products and food products. The first batch of 100 GIs from both sides will be protected immediately after the agreement takes effect. The remaining GIs will be protected within four years after its entry into force.

II. What are the highlights in the Agreement?

The Agreement is China’s first comprehensive, high-level agreement on geographical indications signed with foreign countries. It has the following highlights:

First, the Agreement protects a large number of geographical indications. This is the first time that China and the EU have recognized each other’s GIs on a massive scale. The 550 GIs (275 each) protected under the Agreement are all household names with long-established reputation, such as China’s Shaoxing rice wine, Lu'an melon-seed-shaped tea, Anxi Tie Guan Yin and wine in Helan Mountain East Region, as well as champagne, Bavarian beer, Parma ham, and Sierra Mágina olive oil from Europe. These GIs will benefit thousands of products and producers.

Second, the Agreement covers a wide variety of products. Chinese GIs listed in the Agreement include not only alcohol, tea, agricultural produce and foodstuffs, but also those that represent our traditional culture and have Chinese characteristics, such as Xuan Paper and Shu Brocade. This is the first time that the EU has incorporated such GIs into an agreement. Previously, the EU’s GI agreements only covered agricultural produce, foodstuffs and alcohol.

Third, the Agreement accords high-level protection. The GIs protected under the Agreement not only enjoy high-level protection in the market of the other Party, but are also allowed to bear the official GI symbols of the other Party, which will help relevant products effectively expand market. This is also the first time for the EU to allow, by means of an agreement, foreign GI holders to use its official symbols. Although Chinese GI products are household names domestically, there is still room for a significant boost to their popularity and market share in Europe. The high-level treatment accorded by the Agreement will help make relevant Chinese products more popular among European consumers and further facilitate the export of the products to the EU. At the same time, the Agreement also provides legal protection against counterfeit GI products.

III. What significance does the agreement have for China-EU bilateral trade and economic ties?

The Agreement is the first major trade agreement between China and the EU in recent years, a milestone in deepening bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Both China and the EU have long history and rich GI resources. There is broad room for cooperation. The signing of the agreement will further boost bilateral trade in GI products, scale up China-EU trade and further consolidate the trade and economic foundation of China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.

At the same time, the signing of the agreement demonstrates China’s resolve to further open up, deepen reform and protect intellectual property rights. It also fully embodies both sides’ commitment to free and open trade and the rules-based multilateral trading system. Against today’s backdrop, the signing of the agreement will surely boost confidence in the Chinese, European and global economy. We hope to continue to work with the EU in safeguarding the rules-based free trade system, building an open world economy and promoting global economic growth.

IV. What impact will the Agreement have on the Chinese people?

For one thing, the Agreement can further introduce European consumers to Chinese products. Many of China’s GI products are produced in underdeveloped areas. Bringing quality products from mountainous areas to the world will help alleviate poverty and increase income, and thus inject new growth momentum into low-income areas. For another, the Agreement accords adequate protection to quality EU specialties entering the Chinese market, which addresses EU producers’ concerns and ensures that they can enter our market worry-free. In this way, we can make sure that Chinese consumers have access to authentic quality products at fair prices, improve people’s living standards, and meet their increasing needs for a better life.

5. How will China and the EU advance protection of and cooperation on GIs?

In the next step, China and the EU will ratify the agreement in accordance with their respective laws, so that the agreement can benefit their people and businesses. Under the arrangements of this agreement, China and the EU will keep working on the mutual recognition of the second batch of GI products to protect more GIs from both sides.