Geographical indication products from both sides seen to boost cultural heritage and improve quality of life

Crispy-fried Fangxian mushroom, Umbria extra-virgin olive oil, Cognac sauce and Nanfeng sweet orange were just some of the ingredients that went into innovative fusion recipes served up by prominent chef Tony Jiang at a major event in Shanghai early in November.

The fusion creations－with Chinese and European ingredients－were on show at the EU Food Booth during the China International Import Expo 2021.

Food lovers at the demonstration were made aware of some geographical indication, or GI, products from China and countries in the European Union. Jiang's talents were put to use in the Colours by Europe campaign, which showcases the cultural heritage, farming practices and rich array of quality food and beverage products from 27 EU member states.

The Shanghai event was just one of the many promotions that have taken place after the China-EU Agreement on Geographical Indications was signed in 2020 and went into effect on March 1. A GI is a distinctive sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.

"The agreement on the protection of geographical indication products between China and Europe … will help further promote cooperation on agri-food trade between the two sides," Damien Plan, the agriculture counselor at the EU Delegation in China, said at the opening ceremony of the EU event in Shanghai.

"European food is renowned worldwide," said Plan, noting that China is the third-largest destination for EU agri-food exports, with sales reaching 18 billion euros ($20.2 billion) in 2020.

Zhai Qian, head of the Department of European Affairs of China's Ministry of Commerce, said China-EU trade on agri-food products climbed to $30 billion in 2020, jumping 16.2 percent from the previous year.

The agreement on geographical indications was signed on Sept 14, 2020, during a virtual summit between President Xi Jinping and then German chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Germany happened to hold the presidency of the Council of EU in the second half of 2020.

Negotiations for the agreement were concluded on Nov 6, 2019, after 22 rounds of talks spanning eight years. The agreement was approved in November 2020, first by the European Parliament and then the European Council.

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.

More promotions

Both China and the EU have tried to cash in on the landmark GI agreement with more promotions.

On May 20, the China Mission to the EU launched a program on its website to introduce GI products from China and the EU. Starting with the Gannan Navel Orange from East China's Jiangxi province, it has so far introduced some two dozen GI products, such as Nanjing Salted Duck, Shaoxing Wine, Machange Chrysanthemum Tea and Turpan's Raisins, with stories, videos and photos.

Also in May, short documentaries about the Chinese GI products began to air on French television network TV5Monde, with the first episode on Xixia Mushroom from Central China's Henan province.

Meanwhile, Taste Europe, a 25-episode TV series about European food and culture, has been shown to Chinese viewers since the end of 2020. With the participation of EU member states' embassies in Beijing, the program not only promotes European cuisine and lifestyle but also links quality food promotion relating to products under the GI agreement.

Despite the pandemic's impact on trade, data from Spain's Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism show that some GI products enjoyed a surge in exports to China from March to September last year compared with the same period in 2020.

Cava, a famous Spanish sparkling wine, saw its exports to China reach 1.5 million euros during the period, up 158 percent over the same period in 2020. Exports of La Rioja wine, which was also featured at the import expo in Shanghai, hit 10.4 million euros, up 93 percent.

During the virtual 8th China-France High-Level Economic and Financial Dialogue co-chaired on Dec 13 by Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua and French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, China and France agreed to step up the cooperation between their competent administrations on GIs to promote reciprocal protection of French and Chinese GIs both in a bilateral and a European framework.

Hu Gang, a trademark expert from the CCPIT Patent& Trademark Law Office, said that China has been earnest and professional in providing legal protection to GI products. He elaborated on several legal cases involving GIs in China in a speech at the 1st China-EU GIs Cooperative Conference in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Sept 17.

Hu expressed the view that he was deeply impressed by the EU's effective protection of GIs.

"I believe it will definitely benefit Chinese GI products entering the EU market," he said.

Agricultural cooperation

Li Yan, deputy chief of the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that the China-EU agreement on GIs has opened a new door to bilateral agricultural cooperation. Li cited the fact that 70 percent of the Chinese GI products on the list are related to the agricultural sector.

He said that the vendors of European GI products coming to China can now rest assured, while the companies behind Chinese GI products can actively reach out to the EU market. "The mutual recognition of GI products is great news for countries, businesses, producers and consumers," Li said.

While China's agricultural trade with EU has expanded rapidly in the past years, the growth has been unbalanced. Imports have outgrown exports, resulting in increasing trade deficits.

According to Li, the agricultural trade deficit between China and EU expanded from $9.21 billion in 2019 to $14.79 billion in 2020.

Fish, vegetables and oilseeds account for 39 percent of Chinese agricultural exports to the EU while pork and pork products, dairy products, wines and spirits, including many GI products, make up 76 percent of the EU's agri-food exports to China.

Li believes that the Chinese demand for EU agri-foods is high and has been relatively concentrated in a few categories.

He said that the GI agreement will help upgrade China's agricultural sector, adding that many Chinese quality agricultural products are still like "ginseng being sold at radish price" due to lack of GI certification, a Chinese idiom for being underpriced.

"The GI agreement is a rare opportunity for promoting China-EU agricultural cooperation," said Li, adding that China must seize the opportunity and take multipronged measures to develop its own brands and quality agriculture and further open the agricultural sector to the outside world.

He said China has a lot to learn from the EU in the agricultural sector, from quality and safety control to GI regulations and protection, noting that the center he works for is also known as China-EU Center for Agricultural Technology, a cooperative project first funded by the then European Community, the forerunner of the EU.

By Chen Weihua