Striking agreement

In 2011, China and the EU started negotiations to promote the trade of GI products. However, the process was initially slow due to the different legal systems and regulatory standards.

Despite the challenges, on Sept 14, 2020, the two sides signed the landmark China-EU agreement on GIs.

The deal — covering 550 GI products such as alcoholic beverages, tea, agricultural products and food items — entered into force on March 1, 2021, marking the first large-scale mutual recognition of GIs between China and the EU. It ensures high-level protection for the listed GIs and allows them to use each other's official labels.

When the agreement took effect, the first group of 100 products from each side received immediate protection, with the remaining 175 GIs from each side later given protection.

"This was a real innovation — a model of mutual recognition of systems — made possible only because of the confidence developed between our teams through visits and exchanges on both sides," said Dacian Ciolos, a former EU agriculture commissioner.

Ciolos visited China four times as European agriculture commissioner to better understand China's specific needs and interests during the negotiations.

Similarly, trips were organized for Chinese representatives to visit EU member states to see local producers protected by GIs, he added.

Peng Gang, a former director of the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Asian Affairs, highlighted the extensive efforts behind the China-EU GI agreement, which was signed after eight years of arduous work.

The process involved 22 rounds of formal negotiations and numerous informal consultations. Key Chinese agencies involved included the Commerce Ministry, the National Intellectual Property Administration, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, he said.

Peng arrived in Brussels in April 2021 to serve as the minister of the Chinese Mission to the EU. Over the past four years, he has worked to promote China-EU cooperation, including collaboration on GIs.

He said the agreement's implementation rests on four key elements: the 550 GI products, unified standards, a stringent crackdown on counterfeiting, and a joint committee overseeing the implementation and functioning of the agreement.