“The European Union and China are closer to reaching an investment agreement!” According to a report by Germany’s Business Daily on the 16th, the European Union and China will hold a new round of negotiations on a comprehensive China-EU investment agreement this week. Both sides are confident that this landmark agreement will be reached by the end of this year.
Business Daily learned from the European Union that according to the original plan, China and the EU should conclude the last round of negotiations on investment agreements last week. However, due to the differences between the two sides, the relevant consultations have been extended to this week, and some key issues may be broken through at that time.
Relevant EU sources revealed that both sides want to solve the outstanding problems.” Brussels and Beijing are holding strong political consultations on the main points of the agreement and have quickly advanced many controversial issues.
China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a statement on December 14 that from December 6 to 11, China and the EU held the 35th round of investment agreement negotiations. In this round of negotiations, the two sides have made positive progress in negotiations on the remaining issues of the text and list.
German media reported that the European Union and China have been negotiating an investment agreement for seven years. For Europe, the agreement helps to ensure that European companies have better access to the Chinese market and enjoy fair playing conditions locally.
At present, the main differences between the two sides include the European Investment Protection Mechanism, labor rights and interests, etc.
According to Business Daily, despite many difficulties, German Chancellor Merkel hopes to achieve the goal of reaching an investment agreement by the end of this year. If an agreement is reached, it will be a great success for Germany to become the presidency of the European Union this year.” “Eur-China relations” were originally the focus of Germany’s work in the second half of the year.
Merkel had previously planned to sign a comprehensive China-EU investment agreement at the China-EU summit attended by 27 EU heads of state and government and Chinese leaders in September this year. However, due to the epidemic and other reasons, the plan could not be completed.
German media said that many European enterprises are also looking forward to the signing of the agreement soon, especially after the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), the European Union has felt the importance of strengthening trade relations with China. China is the only major economy in the world that has experienced positive economic growth this year.
The European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group of the European Parliament, believes that the progress of the negotiation of a comprehensive investment agreement between China and Europe is encouraging. “such an agreement can make it easier for European enterprises to participate in China’s economic growth”.
In addition to the positive impact on Europe, the European Commission believes that the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement will have a huge geopolitical impact.
If the agreement is reached before President-elect Biden of the United States takes office, it will also be of sense for Beijing.
