Agreement on maritime transport between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the government of the People’s Republic of China, of the other part

HAVING REGARD TO the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the European Union and thereby to the Community on 1 May 2004,

AVÂND ÎN VEDERE aderarea Republicii Bulgaria și a României la Uniunea Europeană și, prin urmare, la Comunitate la data de 1 ianuarie 2007,

AVÂND ÎN VEDERE aderarea Republicii Croația la Uniunea Europeană la 1 iulie 2013,

This Agreement is aimed at improving the conditions under which maritime cargo transport operations are carried out to and from China, to and from the Community, as well as to and from the Community and China on the one hand and third countries on the other, for the benefit of economic operators of the Parties. It is based on the principles of freedom to provide maritime transport services, free access to cargoes and cross trades, unrestricted access to, and non-discriminatory treatment in, the use of ports and auxiliary services as well as regarding commercial presence. It covers all aspects of door-to-door services.

This Agreement applies to the international maritime cargo transport and logistic services, including multimodal operations involving a sea leg, between the ports of China and of the Member States of the Community as well as to the international maritime cargo transport between the ports of the Member States of the Community. It also applies to cross trades and to the movement of equipment such as empty containers, not being carried as cargo against payment, between ports of China or between ports of a Member State of the Community.

This Agreement shall not affect the application of the bilateral maritime agreements concluded between China and the Member States of the Community for issues falling outside the scope of this Agreement.

This Agreement shall not affect the right of vessels of third parties to engage in cargo and passenger transport between the ports of the Parties or between the ports of either Party and a third party.

For the purpose of this Agreement:

international maritime cargo transport and logistic services cover the supply of services of international maritime transport of cargo, and the related cargo handling, storage and warehousing services, customs clearance services, container station and depot services, port and inland located, shipping agency services and freight forwarding services;

multimodal transport operations is the carriage of goods using more than one mode of transport including a sea-leg under a single document;

shipping agency services means activities consisting in representing, within a given geographic area, as an agent, the business interests of one or more shipping lines or shipping companies, for the following purposes:

marketing and sales of maritime transport and related services, from quotation to invoicing, and issuance of bills of lading on behalf of the companies, contracting of the necessary related services, preparation of documentation, and provision of business information,

acting on behalf of the companies organising the call of the ship or taking over cargoes when required;

freight forwarding services means the activity consisting of organising and monitoring shipment operations on behalf of shippers, through contracting related services, preparation of documentation and provision of business information;

shipping company means a company which meets the following conditions:

being constituted in accordance with the public or private laws of China, or the Community or a Member State of the Community;

having its registered office or central administration or principal place of business in China or the Community respectively;

engaging in international shipping service with its owned or operated vessels.

subsidiary means a company owned by a shipping company and having legal personality;

branch office means a place of business owned by a shipping company and not having legal personality;

representative office means a representative office of a shipping company of one Party established in the other Party;

vessel means any merchant ship registered in accordance with the laws of China, or the Community or its Member States in the vessel registration office of either Party under the national flag of that Party and engaged in international maritime transport, including vessels flying the flag of a third country but owned or operated by a shipping company of China or a Member State of the Community. However, this term does not include warships and any other non-commercial ships.

Each Party shall continue to grant non discriminatory treatment to vessels flying the flag of the other Party or operated by nationals or companies of the other Party, as compared to the treatment accorded to its own vessels, with regard to access to ports, the use of infrastructure and auxiliary maritime services of those ports, as well as related fees and charges, customs formalities and assignment of berths and facilities for loading and unloading.

The Parties undertake to apply effectively the principle of unrestricted access to the international maritime market and traffic on a non-discriminatory and commercial basis.

In applying the principles of paragraphs 1 and 2, the Parties shall:

not introduce cargo sharing clauses in future agreements with third countries concerning maritime transport services and terminate such provisions in the case they exist in previous bilateral agreements within a reasonable period of time;

abolish, upon entry into force of this Agreement, all unilateral administrative, technical, or other measures, which could constitute an indirect restriction and have discriminatory effects on the free supply of services in international maritime transport;

abstain from implementing on entry into force of this Agreement administrative, technical or legislative measures which could have the effect of discriminating against nationals or companies of the other Party in the supply of services in international maritime transport.

One Party shall allow shipping companies of the other Party to have access to and use of, on a non-discriminatory basis and on agreed terms between the companies concerned, feeder services provided by shipping companies registered in the former Party for the international cargo between the ports of China or between the ports of a Member State of the Community.

In respect of activities for the provision of international maritime cargo transport and logistic services, including door-to-door multimodal transport operations, each Party shall permit the shipping companies of the other Party, to establish wholly owned or jointly-invested subsidiaries, branch or representative offices and, as regards subsidiaries and branch offices to engage in economic activities, in accordance with its laws and regulations. Such activities include, but are not limited to:

cargo soliciting and booking of space;

making, confirming, handling and issuing of the bill of lading, including the commonly accepted through bill of lading in the international maritime transport; preparation of documentation concerning transport documents and customs documents;

fixing, collecting and remitting freight and other charges incurred on the basis of the service contracts or tariff rates;

negotiating and signing service contracts;

signing contracts for trucking, railway transport, cargo dealing and other related auxiliary services;

quoting and publishing tariff rates;

engaging in marketing activities related to their service;

owning the equipment necessary for the economic activities;

provision of business information by any means, including computerised information systems and electronic data interchange, subject to any non-discriminatory restrictions concerning telecommunications;

setting up joint ventures with any locally established shipping agency to engage in agency-related businesses, such as organising the call of the vessels or taking delivery of cargoes for shipment.

Each Party shall, after prior consultation and appropriate pre-notice, publish promptly all relevant measures of general application, which pertain to or affect the operation of this Agreement.

Where publication as referred to in paragraph 1 is not practicable, such information shall be made otherwise publicly available.

Each Party shall respond promptly to all requests by the other Party for specific information on any of its measures of general application within the meaning of paragraph 1.

The Parties shall ensure that all measures of general application affecting trade in international maritime transport services are administered in a reasonable, objective and impartial manner.

In those cases where authorisation is required, the competent authorities of a Party shall, within a reasonable period of time after the submission of an application considered complete under domestic laws and regulations, inform the applicant of the decision concerning the application. At the request of the applicant, the competent authorities of a Party shall provide, without undue delay, information concerning the status of the application.

To ensure that measures relating to technical standards and licensing requirements and procedures do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade, requirements shall be based on objective, non-discriminatory, pre-established and transparent criteria, such as the ability to supply the service; and in the case of licensing procedures, not in themselves be a restriction on or a barrier to the supply of the service.

The wholly-owned or jointly-invested subsidiaries, branch or representative offices of the shipping companies of one Party established in the other Party shall be entitled to employ key personnel, in accordance with the legislation in force in the host country, irrespective of their nationality. Each Party shall facilitate the acquisition of work permits and visas for foreign employees.

Revenues of nationals or companies of one Party derived from international maritime transport and multimodal operations in the other Party may be settled in freely convertible currencies.

The revenues and expenses of the economic activities of the subsidiaries and branch and representative offices of the shipping companies of a Party established in the other Party may be settled in the currency of the host country. The balance after the payment of the local fees by the abovementioned shipping companies, subsidiaries, branch or representative offices may be freely remitted abroad at the exchange rate of the bank on the date of remittance.

The Parties shall, for the purpose of promoting the development of their maritime industry, encourage their competent authorities, shipping companies, ports, relevant research institutions, universities and colleges to cooperate, including, but not limited to, the following fields:

exchange of views related to their activities in the framework of international maritime organisations;

formulate and perfect the legislation relating to maritime transport and market administration;

promote efficient transport service for international sea trade by the effective exploitation of the ports and fleets of the Parties;

guarantee shipping safety and prevent marine pollution;

promote maritime education and training, especially the training of seafarers;

exchange personnel scientific information and technology;

enhance their efforts to combat piracy and terrorism.

The Parties shall establish appropriate procedures to ensure the proper implementation of this Agreement.

Should any dispute between the Parties arise from the interpretation or application of this Agreement, their competent authorities shall seek to resolve the dispute through friendly consultation. In the event that no agreement is reached, it shall be settled through diplomatic channels.

This Agreement may be amended by a written agreement between the Parties and the amendment will come into force in accordance with the procedures specified in Article 15(2).

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and, on the other hand, to the territory of China.

This Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Chinese languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.

This Agreement is concluded for a period of five years. It shall be tacitly renewed on a yearly basis unless one of the Parties denounces it in writing six months before the date of expiry.

This Agreement will be approved by the Parties in accordance with their own procedures.

If this Agreement is less favourable on certain issues than existing bilateral agreements between individual Member States of the Community and China, the more favourable provisions shall prevail without prejudice to Community obligations and taking into account the Treaty establishing the European Community. The provisions of this Agreement replace those of previous bilateral agreements concluded between Member States of the Community and China, if the latter provisions are either inconsistent with the former, save for the situation referred to in the preceding sentence, or identical to them. Provisions of existing bilateral agreements not covered by this Agreement shall continue to apply.

Hecho en Bruselas, el seis de diciembre del dos mil dos.Udfærdiget i Bruxelles den sjette december to tusind og to.Geschehen zu Brüssel am sechsten Dezember zweitausendzwei.'Εγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις έξι Δεκεμβρίου δύο χιλιάδες δύο.Done at Brussels on the sixth day of December in the year two thousand and two.Fait à Bruxelles, le six décembre deux mille deux.Fatto a Bruxelles, addì sei dicembre duemiladue.Gedaan te Brussel, de zesde december tweeduizendtwee.Feito em Bruxelas, em seis de Dezembro de dois mil e dois.Tehty Brysselissä kuudentena päivänä joulukuuta vuonna kaksituhattakaksi.Som skedde i Bryssel den sjätte december tjugohundratvå.Pour le Royaume de BelgiqueVoor het Koninkrijk BelgiëFür das Königreich BelgienCette signature engage également la Communauté française, la Communauté flamande, la Communauté germanophone, la Région wallonne, la Région flamande et la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale.Deze handtekening verbindt eveneens de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, de Franse Gemeenschap, de Duitstalige Gemeenschap, het Vlaamse Gewest, het Waalse Gewest en het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest.Diese Unterschrift bindet zugleich die Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, die Flämische Gemeinschaft, die Französische Gemeinschaft, die Wallonische Region, die Flämische Region und die Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt.På Kongeriget Danmarks vegneFür die Bundesrepublik DeutschlandΓια την Ελληνική ΔημοκρατίαPor el Reino de EspañaPour la Republique françaiseThar cheann Na hÉireannFor IrelandPer la Repubblica italianaPour le Grand-Duché de LuxembourgVoor het Koninkrijk der NederlandenFür die Republik ÖsterreichPela República PortuguesaSuomen tasavallan puolestaFör Konungariket SverigeFor the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandPor la Comunidad EuropeaFor Det Europæiske FællesskabFür die Europäische GemeinschaftΓια την Ευρωπαϊκή ΚοινότηταFor the European CommunityPour la Communauté européennePer la Comunità europeaVoor de Europese GemeenschapPela Comunidade EuropeiaEuroopan yhteisön puolestaPå Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar

Por los Estados miembrosZa členské státyFor medlemsstaterneFür die MitgliedstaatenLiikmesriikide nimelΓια τα κράτη μέληFor the Member StatesPour les États membresPer gli Stati membriDalībvalstu vārdāValstybių narių varduA tagállamok részérőlGħall-Istati MembriVoor de lidstatenW imieniu państw członkowskichPelos Estados-MembrosZa členské štátyZa države članiceJäsenvaltioiden puolestaPå medlemsstaternas vägnarPor la Comunidad EuropeaZa Evropské společenstvíFor Det Europæiske FællesskabFür die Europäische GemeinschaftEuroopa Ühenduse nimelΓια την Ευρωπαϊκή ΚοινότηταFor the European CommunityPour la Communauté européennePer la Comunità europeaEiropas Kopienas vārdāEuropos bendrijos varduaz Európai Közösség részérőlGħall-Komunità EwropeaVoor de Europese GemeenschapW imieniu Wspólnoty EuropejskiejPela Communidade EuropeiaZa Európske spoločenstvoza Evropsko skupnostEuroopan yhteisön puolestaPå Europeiska gemenskapens vägnarPor el Gobierno de la República Popular ChinaZa vládu Čínské lidové republikyFor Folkerepublikken Kinas regeringIm Namen der Regierung der Volksrepublik ChinaHiina Rahvavabariigi valitsuse nimelΓια την κυβέρνηση της Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας της ΚίναςFor the Government of the People's Republic of ChinaPour le gouvernement de la République populaire de ChinePer il Governo della Repubblica popolare cineseKīnas Tautas Republikas vārdāKinijos Liaudies Respublikos Vyriausybės varduA Kínai Népköztársaság kormánya részérőlGħall-Gvern tar-Repubblika tal-Poplu taċ-ĊinaVoor de regering van de Volksrepubliek ChinaW imieniu rządu Chińskiej Republiki LudowejPelo Governo da República Popular da ChinaZa vládu Čínskej l'udovej republikyZa Vlado Ljudske republike KitajskeKiinan kansantasavallan hallituksen puolestaPå Folkrepubliken Kinas regerings vägnar

За държавите-членкиPor los Estados miembrosZa členské státyFor medlemsstaterneFür die MitgliedstaatenLiikmesriikide nimelΓια τα κράτη μέληFor the Member StatesPour les États membresPer gli Stati membriDalībvalstu vārdāValstybių narių varduA tagállamok részérőlGħall-Istati MembriVoor de lidstatenW imieniu państw członkowskichPelos Estados-MembrosPentru statele membreZa členské štátyZa države članiceJäsenvaltioiden puolestaPå medlemsstaternas vägnarЗа Европейската общностPor la Comunidad EuropeaZa Evropské společenstvíFor Det Europæiske FællesskabFür die Europäische GemeinschaftEuroopa Ühenduse nimelΓια την Ευρωπαϊκή ΚοινότηταFor the European CommunityPour la Communauté européennePer la Comunità europeaEiropas Kopienas vārdāEuropos bendrijos varduAz Európai Közösség részérőlGħall-Komunità EwropeaVoor de Europese GemeenschapW imieniu Wspólnoty EuropejskiejPela Comunidade EuropeiaPentru Comunitatea EuropeanăZa Európske spoločenstvoZa Evropsko skupnostEuroopan yhteisön puolestaPå Europeiska gemenskapens vägnarЗа правителството на Китайската народна републикаPor el Gobierno de la República Popular ChinaZa vládu Čínské lidové republikyFor Folkerepublikken Kinas regeringIm Namen der Regierung der Volksrepublik ChinaHiina Rahvavabariigi valitsuse nimelΓια την κυβέρνηση της Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας της ΚίναςFor the Government of the People's Republic of ChinaPour la gouvernement de la République populaire de ChinePer il Governo della Repubblica popolare cineseKīnas Tautas Republikas vārdāKinijos Liaudies Respublikos Vyriausybės varduA Ķīnas Népköztársaság kormánya részérőlGħall-Gvern tar-Repubblika Popolari taċ-ĊinaVoor de regering van de Volksrepubliek ChinaW imieniu rządu Chińskiej Republiki LudowejPelo Governo da República Popular da ChinaPentru Guvernul Republicii Populare ChinezeZa vládu Čínskej l'udovej republikyZa Vlado Ljudske republike KitajskeKiinan kansantasavallan hallituksen puolestaPå Folkrepubliken Kinas regerings vägnar

Întocmit la Bruxelles la douăzeci și unu decembrie două mii optsprezece.За държавите-членкиPor los Estados miembrosZa členské státyFor medlemsstaterneFür die MitgliedstaatenLiikmesriikide nimelΓια τα κράτη μέληFor the Member StatesPour les États membresZa države članicePer gli Stati membriDalībvalstu vārdā –Valstybių narių varduA tagállamok részérőlGħall-Istati MembriVoor de lidstatenW imieniu Państw CzłonkowskichPelos Estados-MembrosPentru statele membreZa členské štátyZa države članiceJäsenvaltioiden puolestaFör medlemsstaternaЗа Европейския съюзРог la Unión EuropeaZa Evropskou uniiFor Den Europæiske UnionFür die Europäische UnionEuroopa Liidu nimelΓια την Ευρωπαϊκή ΈνωσηFor the European UnionPour l'Union européenneZa Europsku unijuPer l'Unione europeaEiropas Savienības vārdā –Europos Sąjungos varduAz Európai Unió részérőlGħall-Unjoni EwropeaVoor de Europese UnieW imieniu Unii EuropejskiejPela União EuropeiaPentru Uniunea EuropeanăZa Európsku úniuZa Evropsko unijoEuroopan unionin puolestaFör Europeiska unionenЗа правителството на Киtайската Народна РепубликаPor el Gobierno de la República Popular ChinaZa vládu Čínské lidové republikyFor Folkerepublikken Kinas regeringFür die Regierung der Volksrepublik ChinaHiina Rahvavabariigi valitsuse nimelΓια την κυβέρνηση της Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας της ΚίναςFor the Government of the People’s Republic of ChinaPour le gouvernement de la République populaire de ChineZa Vladu Narodne Republike KinePer il Governo della Repubblica popolare cineseĶīnas Tautas Republikas valdības vārdā –Kinijos Liaudies Respublikos Vyriausybės varduA Kínai Népköztársaság kormánya részérőlGħall-Gvern tar-Repubblika Popolari taċ-ĊinaVoor de Regering van de Volksrepubliek ChinaW imieniu rządu Chińskiej Republiki LudowejPelo Governo da República Popular da ChinaPentru Guvernul Republicii Populare ChinezeZa vládu Čínskej ľudovej republikyZa Vlado Ljudske republike KitajskeKiinan kansantasavallan hallituksen puolestaFör Folkrepubliken Kinas regering