A newly released details of an investment agreement between China and the European Union restricts European investment in Chinese media and entertainment companies, but does not prevent Chinese companies from investing in European media and entertainment companies.
Critics say the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment pact announced last Friday gives Chinese companies a big advantage in the media industry, despite growing alarm over Chinese disinformation and propaganda campaigns in Europe.
The agreement, signed in principle last December, has come under fire from Washington. Just days before the agreement was reached, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan urged the Europeans to delay the completion of the negotiations. In a tweet, he called for “early consultations with our European partners on our shared concerns about China’s economic behavior.”
Critics on both sides of the Atlantic say the deal would give China preferential access to European markets as Beijing continues to crack down on Hong Kong‘s pro-democracy movement and maintain detention centers in Xinjiang. According to human rights groups, the Chinese Communist government is holding more than 1 million Uighurs in Xinjiang.
The agreement has several stages before it can be adopted and requires the approval of the European Parliament. Provisions on investment access in the media and entertainment industries are fast becoming a focus of criticism by some MEPs, mostly from the right-of-center European People’s Party (EPP). The party is the largest group in the European Parliament.
In a statement, the EPP urged the European Commission to “establish an EU-wide regulatory system to prevent government-funded or controlled media companies from acquiring European media companies.”
China has invested about $3.5 billion in European media companies over the past 10 years. EU officials say the investment agreement simply gives formal protection and respect to access rules agreed between the EU and China under the terms of the World Trade Organization.
A spokeswoman for the European Commission said the agreement “does not create any new rights for Chinese investors in the media sector. Under the terms of the agreement, Chinese investors investing in media companies should be treated the same as European investors and enjoy similar market access. However, the agreement does not grant the same rights to European investors.
Since more details of the investment agreement were made public last week, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a liberal member of the European Parliament, “has more questions than before.
She said the EU sees China as a partner, but Beijing does not treat the EU accordingly. Other MPs referred to recent studies tracking Chinese influence. These studies show that when Chinese companies, mainly state-owned, invest in European media, Chinese coverage of new acquisitions becomes more aggressive.
In a study published last year, MapInfluenCE, a foreign policy research group run by the International Association, concluded that “local audiences in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have increasingly become not only ‘mouthpiece diplomacy ‘ but also the direct target of more sophisticated propaganda efforts that promote a positive image of China, strain transatlantic relations, and directly attempt to rewrite the narrative on sensitive issues.”
Eleven member states, mainly in Central Europe, including Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, remain concerned about the agreement and reserve the right to treat Chinese investors differently.
China is a major trading partner of the EU. European companies have invested $174 billion in China over the past 20 years. The European Commission said the investment agreement will improve overall market access for European companies, investors and service providers in China and provide fairer rules.
The agreement provides a clear and enforceable framework of rules that will give EU companies greater access and more certainty when investing in China,” EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in a statement last week.
Critics of the agreement say there is no level playing field when it comes to the media. China’s government-controlled China Central Television (CCTV) channels can be broadcast across Europe without any barriers, but China has imposed restrictions on European broadcasters.
Outside the EU, the UK and China are at odds over media issues. Last month, BBC World News was banned by Beijing from landing in China after it aired a series of reports on the alleged systematic rape of Uighur Muslim women in Xinjiang.
British Foreign Secretary George Raab called the move an “unacceptable restriction on media freedom.
The U.S. State Department condemned Beijing’s decision, calling it part of a broader campaign to crack down on China’s free media.
China’s State Administration of Radio and Television (NRTA) said the content of BBC World News’ China-related reports “seriously violated” the Radio and Television Regulations, including that “news should be truthful and impartial” and This includes the requirement that “news should be truthful and impartial” and “not harm China’s national interests.
Earlier this year, British media regulator Ofcom revoked China Global Television Network’s (CGTN) license to broadcast programs in the U.K.
Details of the EU-China investment agreement may add to the Biden administration’s displeasure with the EU’s decision to push for the agreement. U.S. President Joe Biden wants to create a “united front” on China to increase his influence against Beijing.
Analysts have been warning for weeks that the EU and the Biden Administration will not agree on the best way to deal with an increasingly assertive China.
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