SHANGHAI, Nov 23: European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson warned China on Friday that its days of special economic status were over and it should open up further to global trade.

“We have arrived at something of a crossroad and time for special allowances for China is pretty much over,” Mandelson said in a speech to the European Chamber of Commerce here.

“I see huge potential here but I see the spiralling trade deficit between Europe and China as evidence of a blocked potential.” As a key trading power and a World Trade Organisation member, China now needed to shoulder more obligations and responsibilities in global trade, he said.

“China has a choice to make it is by far the rawest nerve in European trade politics today. Everyday, the frustration is growing deeper.” Mandelson said Chinese leaders needed to reduce non-tariff barriers, regulations and discrimination against European companies as well as stepping up on intellectual property rights protection.

“I do have a real hopeful belief in Europe’s openness to China. I want to maintain this openness to China but China has got to do more to help me sustain this openness by opening more itself.” Mandelson is in China for a six-day visit and was in Shanghai ahead of a Sino-EU summit in Beijing next week.

Mandelson was also quoted by the Financial Times as saying that China could face anti-dumping measures if it did not move to rein in an “unsustainable” trade surplus.

He warned in the newspaper article on Friday that he would come under increasing pressure to take tougher action if Beijing did not work to reduce market barriers.

“During the six days that I spent in China, the trade deficit will grow by over two billion euros, or 15 million euros an hour, that is what I call unsustainable,” he told the paper.

“There are real issues of market access, legal protection, as well as the other issues we are dealing with — like counterfeiting and export of fake goods.” Like the US, the EU remains frustrated with selective market access and an exchange rate policy widely believed to be fuelling growth in the trade deficit.

According to its figures, the European Union ran a trade deficit of 128 billion euros ($175 billion) with China last year. The shortfall is likely to balloon to 170 billion euros this year on current trends. —AFP