China, Europe seek win-win from GI deal

Legal protection

Under the agreement, 100 GI products from each side have been put under legal protection against usurpation and imitation. A second list of 175 GI products from each side will be protected within the next four years.

Items under the current list include the well-known Chinese products Pixian Bean Paste, Anji White Tea, Panjin Rice and Anqiu Ginger. On the European side, the names include Cava, Champagne, Irish Whiskey, Munchener Bier, Polska Wodka, Porto and Queso Manchego (cheese).

On the day the agreement took effect, the European Commission said in a statement that China has "high-growth potential for European food and drinks", highlighting its market of 1.4 billion consumers, "with a growing middle class with a taste for iconic European products".

China is the second-largest destination for EU exports of GI products, accounting for 9 percent by value, including wines, agri-food products and spirit drinks, according to the commission.

It said that China has a well-established geographical indication system of its own, with still more products waiting to be discovered by EU consumers thanks to the agreement.

European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, a Polish politician, earlier described the GI agreement as "reflecting our commitment to work closely with or global trading partners such as China".

He said the agreement will help protect the bloc's GI products to "ensure their authenticity and preserve their reputation while "strengthening our trading relationship, benefiting our agri-food sector and consumers on both sides".

Bilateral cooperation on GIs first started in 2006 and resulted in the protection of 10 GI names from each side in 2012. The initial agreement laid the groundwork for the latest cooperation.

Wojciechowski met with Tang Renjian, China's minister of agriculture and rural affairs, in a virtual meeting in September to discuss further agricultural cooperation between the two sides.

In China, the Ministry of Commerce has applauded the agreement as the country's first comprehensive, high-level bilateral agreement on GIs.

In his virtual meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and then German chancellor Merkel on July 5, President Xi highlighted the progress on the agreement, noting that just a few months after the agreement went into effect, 134 GIs from EU are already being protected in China while 100 GIs from China receive the same treatment in the EU.

Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU until a few weeks ago, said in September that the China-EU agreement not only protects and promotes high-quality GIs in each other's market but also offers more options for Chinese and Europeans to pursue a better life.

In a meeting marking the anniversary of the signing of the agreement, Zhang described the agreement as "setting a good example" to show that "China-EU relations are mutually beneficial". The veteran diplomat stepped down after more than four years on the job.