China and the European Union
(EU) completed the negotiation of a comprehensive bilateral investment
agreement on Wednesday. China and the EU, two of the world's major
economies, launched the negotiations for the agreement in 2014.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
said the agreement demonstrated China's determination and confidence in
promoting high-level opening up. He added that the agreement will
provide the two sides with greater market access, a higher-level
business environment, stronger institutional guarantees, and brighter
prospects for cooperation.
The announcement was made during
a meeting between Xi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President
Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel and European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link.
Xi emphasized that with 2021
approaching, China and the EU should show responsibility as the world's
two major powers, to strengthen dialogue, increase mutual trust,
properly handle differences, and work together to cultivate new
opportunities.
He added that the two sides
should coordinate in the battle against the pandemic, jointly promote
economic recovery and accelerate green development.
The agreement will greatly boost
world economic recovery in the post-pandemic era, promote the
liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment, as well
as enhance the international community's confidence in economic
globalization and free trade, Xi said.
"Today's agreement is an
important landmark in our relationship with China and for our
values-based trade agenda. It will provide unprecedented access to the
Chinese market for European investors, enabling our businesses to grow
and create jobs," said European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen.
"It will also commit China to
ambitious principles on sustainability, transparency and
non-discrimination. The agreement will re-balance our economic
relationship with China."
"This deal will give European
businesses a major boost in one of the world's biggest and
fastest-growing markets, helping them to operate and compete in China.
It also anchors our values-based trade agenda with one of our largest
trading partners," according to Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice
president and commissioner for trade.
The European side also added it
is a high-level investment agreement and it appreciates China's further
opening-up and active approaches to spur trade liberalization and
investment facilitation.
Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of
the China Securities Regulatory Commission, told CGTN in a recent
interview that the treaty would open up markets in Europe and China to
each other's investors much wider.
The deal between China and EU
could also be applicable to other major economies, Fang said.
"Whatever terms that will be
settled in the China-EU agreement, we could apply to other countries as
well," Fang said in the Tuesday interview.
So countries like the U.S. and
Japan could also stand to gain from the investment treaty between China
and Europe, much like what the European companies have gained from the
phase one trade agreement between China and the United States, he said.
"We eagerly await the release of
the details of this political agreement, and hope to find a robust and
bold conclusion," said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union
Chamber of Commerce in China, in a note on Wednesday.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said
earlier this month that he hopes the EU will continue to provide a fair,
open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.
China replaced the U.S. to
become the EU's largest trading partner in the first three quarters of
2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Bilateral trade volume between China
and the EU reached 425.5 billion euros ($517.5 billion) between January
and September, compared with 412.5 billion euros ($507 billion) between
the EU and the U.S. during the same period, according to Eurostat.
China has made continuous
efforts to further open up its market, including further reducing the
number of sectors and industries that were off-limits to both Chinese
and overseas investors earlier this month.
Source: CGTN |