“The agreement will ensure a long-term balance between the economy and investment in Central Europe.”
“The agreement harmonizes the standards of China and Europe on investment.”
“The completion of the agreement will contribute to the global economic recovery.”
…
△Picture Source: Visual China
On the evening of December 30, President Xi Jinping held a video meeting with German Chancellor Merkel, French President Macron, European Council President Michelle and European Commission President von der Leyen in Beijing. China-EU leaders jointly announced the completion of the China-EU investment agreement negotiations on schedule. This news has attracted great attention from European economic circles.
Long-term balance
“This is a very important agreement between Europe and China, which will ensure the long-term balance between Europe and China in terms of economy and investment,” said Valdys Dąbrowskis, vice chairman of the European Commission and EU trade commissioner, in an interview with China Central Radio and Television.
Valdys Dombrowskis
“This agreement has been negotiated for a long time. We have been negotiating for about seven years. During the 2019 EU-China Summit, we decided that a high-level investment agreement will be reached before the end of 2020. Of course, the EU side has always stressed that for the EU, reaching an agreement is the substantive content before the deadline.
Dombrovskis said that the EU-China Investment Agreement is a very targeted agreement and an investment-focused agreement, which will help European and Chinese enterprises better solve the existing imbalances in the markets of both sides.
Global benefits
OECD has always been an advocate of trade facilitation. Ms. Majit Molner, director of the OECD Office of China Economic Policy, once said that the EU-China Investment Agreement will be beneficial to the world.
Majit Morna
“Before Brexit, the EU was China’s largest trading partner. The EU was important to China and China was also important to the EU. The agreement between the two relatively large economies should have a positive effect on the whole world.”
Boost confidence
Michael Schumann, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Federation for Economic Development and Foreign Trade of Germany, said in an exclusive interview with the reporter of the China National Taiwan that the completion of the negotiations on the EU-China Investment Agreement is a major breakthrough, which has boosted the confidence of enterprises and investors on both sides, will promote the further development of EU-China relations and inject positive energy into the world economic recovery. Energy.
Schumann said that the most direct beneficiaries of completing the negotiations on the EU-China investment agreement are the enterprises and investors of both sides.
Michael Schumann
“I have no doubt that the completion of the negotiations on the EU-China investment agreement is a major breakthrough. This agreement will provide more market opportunities for European enterprises, especially in key areas such as automobile industry, including electric vehicles, aviation, mechanical engineering, health care, finance, etc., and the two sides can cooperate more broadly and smoothly.
German enterprises and investors are happy to see this. I think many family enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany can also benefit from it.
This is a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement, from which China has also obtained the EU’s assurance that the EU will continue to open its large-scale market to Chinese enterprises and products and provide a safer investment environment. I believe that the completion of the Euro-China investment agreement negotiations will not only accelerate the world economic recovery, but also further promote multilateral cooperation.
Pull the recovery
Alexander Kuritz, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, said in an exclusive interview with the General Station that the EU-China Investment Agreement will not only provide a more open, free and equitable environment for investors on both sides, but also make Europe-China economic and trade links closer and strongly promote the global economic recovery after the epidemic.
Kuritz stressed that he firmly believed that the agreement would help the economy recover. It will bring a equal business environment to the world, especially for two-way investment between China and Europe. Moreover, the EU-China investment agreement will undoubtedly inject momentum into the post-epidemic economic recovery.
Important templates
Douglas McWilliams
Founder and Executive Vice President of the British Center for Economic and Business Research
“I think the EU-China investment agreement will be a very important template for other countries, and I hope to become a model of the Anglo-China investment agreement.”
Harmonized standards
Italian economist and former Vice Minister of Economic Development Geraci said that the most important point of the agreement is to harmonize China’s and European standards on investment, especially market access policies.
Gerach
“This agreement is equivalent to providing a basis for reaching a new agreement on it and constantly narrowing the distance between Europe and China, which is good for Europe, China and the world.”
Inject power
Bernard DeWitt, chairman of the Belgian-China Economic and Trade Commission, said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese media that the agreement is great good news for the European and Chinese business community, and it will inject new impetus into the already very important EU-Chinese relations.
Bernard DeWitt
“This agreement sends a very positive signal to the European and Chinese business community, and I think many industries will benefit from it, including industry, high-tech and agriculture. Especially at the current time of the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, Europe and China will also usher in opportunities for cooperation in the pharmaceutical field. In short, it sends a positive message that Europe and China are committed to enhancing bilateral relations that are already very important.
DeWitt also pointed out that in the context of the global pandemic of COVID-19, the investment agreement will help to strengthen mutual trust between Europe and China and strengthen cooperation between Europe and China in the fight against the epidemic, thus contributing to the global economic recovery.
Long-term balance
Sasha Wenshi-Dish, Director of the Comprehensive Indicators Research Branch of the Economics and Statistics Division of the World Intellectual Property Organization, said in an exclusive interview with the station that interdependence among countries promotes global economic growth and innovation, trust is the foundation, and cooperation and exchanges promote the generation of good things.
Sasha Wenshi-Jieshang
“All countries should avoid developing in isolation, not think that there is only a competitive relationship between countries, but to see themselves as a collaborator in the innovation system. Therefore, the signing of regional and global agreements is particularly welcome.
More and more agreements have been reached between countries in very different ways. If China signs agreements with each country one by one, it will generate a lot of work, and there is a competitive risk of better agreements between one country and another. Therefore, it is still necessary to consider it at the regional level, which is exactly the case with the EU.
Media in many European countries also followed the first time that China-EU leaders jointly announced the completion of the China-EU investment agreement negotiations on schedule.
24-hour Sun
Italy’s largest financial newspaper, The 24-hour Sun, said in an article that “the two giants finally meet each other”. The article points out that China is the second largest investment market in Europe, and the conclusion of the investment agreement will facilitate the investment of European enterprises in China, especially in the electric vehicle, finance, health and other industries, which can be said to be an unprecedented agreement.
Italian Institute of International Political Science
The Italian Institute of International Political Studies published an article on December 30 that the importance of the EU-China investment agreement is first reflected in the economic and trade level. The conclusion of the investment agreement can further strengthen and expand EU-China economic cooperation. At the same time, the agreement provides both sides with new opportunities to enter each other’s markets and guarantees it at the legal level. The equal status of the two enterprises; another agreement also emphasizes sustainable development.
The article also emphasizes that the completion of Euro-China investment agreement negotiations will contribute to the recovery of the world economy.
The New Zurich
The New Zurich, Switzerland’s largest newspaper, published an article pointing out that Swiss enterprises that have benefited from the Swiss-China Free Trade Agreement do not have to worry about adverse effects, and Swiss enterprises will also benefit from the EU-China Investment Agreement.
Switzerland signed a revised investment protection agreement with China in 2009 and signed the Swiss-China Free Trade Agreement in 2013, which is the first bilateral free trade agreement signed between China and continental European countries.
The article pointed out that according to the relevant Swiss-China agreements, if China accepts certain conditions of the EU, Switzerland can claim the same treatment. In addition, if EU companies increase their investment in China after the signing of the investment agreement between Europe and China, it will also indirectly have a positive impact on Swiss exporters. For example, many suppliers in the German automobile industry are Swiss enterprises.
Echo
According to the French financial professional media Echo, both Europe and China will benefit from this agreement. In many areas of manufacturing and services, European enterprises will have greater market access and investment will be more convenient in China. At the same time, Chinese enterprises will also be able to invest in EU countries in fields such as energy, especially renewable energy.
The report also stressed that China has made important commitments in the sustainable development of investment projects.
The investment data quoted in the report also show that from 2000 to 2020, the two-way investment volume in China and Europe has steadily climbed.
