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The negotiations took place over seven years, and now China and the EU have announced that they have fundamentally agreed: an investment deal should make trade fairer. What’s in there And where are the hooks?
By Stephan Ueberbach, ARD-Studio Brussels
The new EU-China agreement is not a free trade agreement or an investmentprotectionagreement, but regulates the access of European companies to the Chinese market and vice versa. The EU Commission is convinced that the agreement will significantly improve the chances of the European economy and notes that the leadership of Beijing has made important concessions in three important areas.
First of all, EU companies should be able to invest in China much more easily than before, in all important areas, from the automotive industry to air travel and cloud services, through the energy sectors, finances and health.
The so-called “joint venture obligation” is largely eliminated. European companies no longer have to partner with Chinese partner companies and share their technologies. This would also better protect intellectual property.
Environmental and social standards
Second, the agreement aims to ensure a level playing field. So far, Chinese SOEs have had clear advantages, also because they feed on subsidies through opaque channels.
And thirdly, the agreement stipulates that China will adhere to international sustainability standards, for example in the environmental or social area. This should especially apply to the working conditions of Chinese employees.
Will you be ready for signing in a year?
The leadership in Beijing also promises to work to implement rules against forced labor. Disputes must be resolved by arbitration tribunals. In return, China gets more legal certainty for its investments in the EU.
The contract now has to be translated into the official European languages and reviewed by lawyers. So it will be a long time before the agreement is actually ready for signature; there is talk of up to a year in Brussels.
The European Parliament must also agree. Many MEPs are demanding significant improvements because the agreements do not go far enough, especially when it comes to workers’ rights and the fight against forced labor.
