中国欧盟商会(European Union Chamber of Commerce)成立十年以来，我很少见到会员们的市场情绪如此低迷或消极。经历了30年渐进的市场改革之后，许多在华外企仿佛意外遭遇了难以逾越的障碍。
30多年来，外国企业一直在中国受到欢迎。它们带来了巨大的投资、技术以及管理技巧，建立起了不仅令自身受益、同时也惠及竞争对手的供应链，同时还为消费者提供了更多的选择。它们的贡献一直是中国经济成功的重要驱动力。
突然之间，政治上的进展和监管方面的限制汇集到一起，酿成一杯危险的"鸡尾酒"――许多公司从中嗅到了保护主义气息。尽管在某些领域（比如金融服务业和零售业），中国市场的开放程度越来越高，但在许多行业，外国企业的挫折感远比中国政府意识到的更为明显。
我第一次听说有（外国）企业考虑完全撤离中国。它们之所以有这种想法，并非因为它们无法与本土对手竞争，而是因为它们厌倦了在一种无法预测的商业环境里苦苦挣扎――在这种商业环境中，它们失败的可能性似乎被人为地加大。
我还听说一些大型企业准备制定战略，将未来的部分投资撤出中国，转投其它亚洲国家――那里市场环境更加透明，也更容易预测，这意味着更为安全和稳妥的投资机遇。
由于这些企业群情激奋，欧盟和美国方面的政策制定者们也剑拔弩张。中国有可能面临这样的局面：经济陷入困境的西方国家政府将愈发大肆抨击中国政府的经济政策。
外国企业是中国潜在的重要盟友，而中国却有可能在最需要外国朋友的时候，疏远这些企业。正当外国企业可能与中国并肩反对保护主义的时候，它们的感受却正日渐恶化。外国企业在保持市场开放和贸易流动方面有着既定利益。它们本应向布鲁塞尔和国会山进言，支持自由贸易。而事实上，它们却在质问，为何中国企业集团可以自由进入外国市场，而在华外国企业却得不到同等待遇。它们在质问：为何吉利(Geely)能够收购沃尔沃(Volvo)，而外国汽车制造商仍然必须要组建合资企业，才能在中国生产汽车？
要摆脱这种局面，中国政府首先要通过具体、可衡量的举措，给外国企业吃下定心丸：即中国将恪守加入世贸组织(WTO)时的承诺，为所有在华企业提供一个公平竞争的环境。举例来说，去年提出的"本土创新"法，要求政府采购倾向于基于本土开发的知识产权的产品。尽管官方对我们的质疑作出的回应，一直让我们感到鼓舞，但我们现在需要证明――通过具体行动――这些措施并不像目前人们所感觉的那样，只是为了迫使外国竞争对手退出某些特定市场。
第二个举措是持续进行有意义的对话。中国总理温家宝最近指出，缺乏沟通是中国领导层与国际企业关系中的关键问题，他承诺将更频繁地会见外国企业。这非常必要。
无论中方承认与否，在华外企和欧美政治领袖眼中，中国存在形象问题。它可以改变这种看法，但不是通过坚持推行构思拙劣、旨在设置障碍的政策――或是疏远天然的盟友。
最近，中国欧盟商会提出了改善中国商业环境的500多条建议。去年11月，我们提出了如何解决工业产能过剩这一普遍问题的建议。欧洲企业是中国经济成功及其经济未来的合作伙伴。我们准备就如何最好地实现我们的共同目标展开讨论。但这只有当我们知道自己在谈判中受欢迎的情况下，才可能发生。
本文作者为中国欧盟商会主席
译者/何黎
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001032149
In the 10 years since the establishment of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, I have seldom seen market sentiment among members so bleak or pessimistic. After 30 years of progressive market reforms, many foreign businesses in the country feel as though they have run up against an unexpected and impregnable blockade.
For more than 30 years, foreign companies have been welcomed into China. They have brought massive levels of investment andtechnical and management skills, building supply chains that benefit not only their own businesses but those of competitors, while also providing consumers with more choice. Their contributions continue to be an important driver of China's economic success.
Suddenly political developments and regulatory restrictions have converged to create a dangerous cocktail that, for many companies, smacks of protectionism. While in some sectors � financial services and retail, for example � the doors to the Chinese market open ever wider, in many industries frustration among foreign businesses is far higher than Beijing realises.
For the first time I hear of companies contemplating leaving the country altogether. They consider this not because they cannot compete with local rivals � but because they are weary of slogging through an unpredictable business environment where the odds seem deliberately stacked against them.
I also hear of big companies preparing strategies to route part of their future investment away from China and into other Asian countries, where a more transparent and predictable market environment means safer and healthier investment opportunities.
With feelings so high, policymakers in Brussels and Washington are also rattling their sabres. There is a risk for China that governments of struggling western economies will increasingly take potshots at Beijing's economic policies.
Foreign business is potentially an important ally for China, and the country risks alienating it just when it most needs friends abroad. Sentiment is turning sour at the very moment when foreign companies could be standing beside China in the fight against protectionism. Foreign businesses have a vested interest in keeping markets open and trade flowing. They should be beating down the doors in Brussels and Capitol Hill to advocate for free trade. Instead, they are asking why Chinese groups can freely access foreign markets when foreign companies are given less than equal treatment in China. They are asking why Geely can buy Volvo, while foreign motor manufacturers still have to form joint ventures to manufacture their cars in China.
The first step out of this situation is for Beijing to offer reassurance � through concrete, measurable actions � that it will adhere to the spirit of its World Trade Organisation commitments and provide a level playing field for all businesses in China. Take, for example, the "indigenous innovation" regulations proposed last year, which will require government procurement to favour products that are based on domestically developed intellectual property. Though we have been encouraged by official responses to our queries on this issue, we now need proof � through implementation � that these measures are not, as they are now perceived, a crude attempt to force foreign rivals out of certain markets.
The second step is sustained and meaningful dialogue. Premier Wen Jiabao recently identified a lack of communication as a key problem in relations between China's leadership and international business, and pledged to meet more often with foreign companies. This is sorely needed.
Whether it recognises it or not, China has an image problem both among foreign businesses in the country and with political leaders in Europe and the US. It can change this perception, but not by persisting with ill-conceived and obstructionist policies � or by alienating natural allies.
The European Chamber recently offered more than 500 recommendations for improving the business climate in China. In November we offered proposals to tackle the widespread problem of industrial overcapacity. European business is a partner in China's economic success � and its economic future. We are ready to discuss how we can best achieve our common goals. But this will only happen if we know that we are welcome at the table.
The writer is president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
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