Negotiations on China-EU Investment Agreement

Instant International

Written by: Xu Yi'an

2020-07-30 11:15

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis presided over the 8th China-EU Economic and Trade High-level Dialogue in the form of a video conference on July 28. The two sides discussed joint response to the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), global economic governance, bilateral trade and investment concerns, as well as cooperation in financial services and taxation visits.

The German media Handelsblatt reported on the 28th that China was accused of not making concessions on key issues including market access. The EU was disappointed. The human rights issue in Hong Kong was also an obstacle to negotiations between the two sides.

Reuters quoted a statement issued by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on the 28th, saying that Liu He said that China and the European Union will speed up negotiations with a view to reaching an investment agreement before the end of the year. In addition, he also said that China and the EU will further expand agricultural trade.

The negotiation of the EU-China Investment Agreement has been going on for more than six years, and its successful signing will be a milestone in bilateral relations.

"Business Daily" quoted an EU official who said that although the two sides have a consensus on fair competition conditions, key market access issues have not progressed. In the fields of communications, information, health, biotechnology and electric vehicles, European companies are still unable to compete with China. State-owned enterprises enjoy the same treatment.

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The EU is also dissatisfied with China's restrictions on European meat imports, while European companies complain about China's restrictions on foreign investment.

China’s refusal to make concessions in the negotiations surprised EU officials. After all, with the tightening of Sino-US relations, China should improve its relations with Europe. China's implementation of the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has obviously also had an impact on bilateral relations.

Bernd Lange, chairman of the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament, said that the main obstacle to investment agreement negotiations is China's unfair trade practices and Hong Kong's human rights issues.

Although the European Union has announced that it hopes to complete the negotiations before the end of the year, the EU and European companies have little hope of completing the negotiations in the near future.

The European Parliament judged Reinhard Bütikofer, the head of the China-Relations delegation, that China intends to wait until the results of the US presidential election are announced before taking the next step. However, the EU may also work with the new US government to pressure China to change.

China-EU relations Wang Yi