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The EU is entering into an investment deal with China, a hasty trade deal that lacks a long-term strategy for dealing with Beijing.
opinion
A European-Chinese round table in Beijing in 2018: the EU and China negotiated for seven years, then everything happened very quickly.
Photo: Jason Lee (Reuters)
Beijing could hardly believe it. For seven years, the Chinese government misled the EU by negotiating an investment deal. Meanwhile, it has ignored all the rules, cracked down on European companies and refused to make concessions. However, the EU is now ready to sign the investment deal that was hastily concluded after Beijing’s turnaround. It is a mistake for Brussels to embark on this maneuver.
Basically, the agreement aims to guarantee European companies greater market access and fairer conditions in China. This is not only necessary, but also overdue. But much will depend on how specific the Chinese commitments are and how they are controlled. Little is known about this because the negotiations take place behind closed doors, as Beijing likes. The EU has been urged by Beijing to sign the agreement before US President Biden takes office.
A shameful theater
China’s notorious breach of the rules gives little reason for optimism. For a long time, China’s willingness to allow independent unions and ban forced labor was stalled in negotiations. Even in bargaining circles, anyone is unlikely to believe that Beijing’s concessions have an impact on the way it deals with stakeholders in its own country. Or it could be an answer to that Human rights abuses in Xinjiang. It is a shame that the EU is involved in this theater.
The people of Brussels seem sure of their cause. Beijing’s concern for China’s coordinated transatlantic policy is great. Apparently they wanted to take advantage of this uncertainty in Brussels. The EU threatens to repeat exactly what it says US President Donald Trump he himself has accused: hasty trade deals, ill-conceived deals, and going it alone, which are more of a political drama than a long-term strategy for dealing with China.
Today he is no longer considered a reformer: Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Photo: Carlos García Rawlins (Reuters)
Because one thing is clear: it is no longer the year 2013 when the negotiations on the investment agreement began. Back then it was Xi Jinping Just came to power, he was considered a reformer. Today the country is trampling other states, fighting for the Telecommunications provider Huawei two Canadians captured as political hostages.
And Australia is imposing sanctions for demanding an independent investigation into the coronavirus outbreak in China. No urgent economic reforms have materialized. Beijing has a clear national industrial policy that favors domestic companies.
China needs access to the European market to invest and to maintain access to European technology.
With the conclusion of the agreement, the EU is also wasting significant political capital. Two scenarios would be possible: China largely guarantees the same rules for both parties, or the EU ensures that conditions for Chinese companies in Europe are as difficult as those for European companies in China. That is exactly what Beijing fears. China needs access to the European market to invest and to maintain access to European technology.
With the new investment agreement, the EU has not demonstrated its independence from the United States or its strength. It has not reorganized China’s European policy, it has weakened it. Beijing should view this with satisfaction.
