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The European Union and China reached a landmark agreement that represents the opening of the world’s second largest economy to European investment. Since 2013, the two powers have been in dialogue to try to reach an investment agreement.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by Chinese President Xi Jinping and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The agreement allows opening the Chinese market to European investment, while addressing practices that raise concern in Brussels, including illegal subsidies granted by Beijing to various industries, state control of several companies and forced transfer of technology.
According to Brussels, this political agreement “will create a better balance in EU-China trade relations”, as “the EU has traditionally been much more open than China to foreign investment.”
Beijing “is now committed to opening up to the EU in a number of key sectors” and ensuring “fair treatment” for European companies so that they can compete on a level playing field, the Commission said.
In a statement issued in Brussels, Von der Leyen called this agreement “an important milestone” in the EU’s relations with China, noting that it “will provide European investors with unprecedented access to the Chinese market”, while “compromising China. with ambitious principles in terms of sustainability, transparency and non-discrimination ”.
The British newspaper Financial Times Vladis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European Commission, said it was “the most ambitious agreement in history between China and another power.”
“We hope that from now on European companies can have greater confidence in their operations,” the minister said, noting that the agreement implies “changing the rules of the game, given that trade relations with China were unbalanced for a long time.” .
For its part, China has a long-standing ambition fulfilled, ensuring access to the European renewable energy market.
The agreement is also proof that European companies are increasingly focusing on the Asian market, despite criticism from Brussels of the Xi Jinping government for alleged human rights violations.
However, the Financial Times notes that the deal could create tension between the European Union and the Biden administration. The US president-elect has insisted on the importance of transatlantic cooperation to counter the power of Beijing.
China has sought to assert itself as the great power of the 21st century, and strengthening trade ties with the European Union is another geopolitical move of the great middle empire.
Bloomberg writes that the document is expected to go into effect in 2022.
The news of the agreement is, however, a surprise given the evolution of relations between the two powers in 2020. This year, Brussels publicly condemned Beijing’s interference in Hong Kong and accused the government of Xi Jinping of having launched a campaign of misinformation about the new chorionvirus.
According to a joint statement by the Commission and the Council, during today’s video conference the leaders also addressed other dossiers, namely the fight against climate change, the covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong and human rights, and the leaders Europeans congratulated with “important progress on a number of key issues”, but “continued expectations and concerns in other areas”, without specifying.
The European Union also reiterated the invitation made to Chinese President Xi Jinping to an EU-China summit at the highest level, with the participation of the 27 heads of state and government, which was even expected this year but was postponed. due to covid-19, and should take place in Brussels in 2021, on a date yet to be defined.
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