“The investment agreement between the EU and China will be delayed for a long time,” writes Time Online. Key EU lawmakers believe that the work will not be restarted until relations with the Chinese leadership are eased. The goal of deepening economic relations between Europe and China through the agreement will therefore be postponed indefinitely. The background of the strained relations includes the measures taken by Beijing against EU parliamentarians.”
The article recalls that the EU announced sanctions against four Xinjiang officials in March, and in response, Beijing also announced sanctions against EU politicians and academics. However, “Beijing’s response of sanctioning parliamentarians and independent scholars was disproportionate compared to the EU’s symbolic measures.” Reinhard Bütikofer, a German Green Party politician on the sanctions list, said that “the Chinese (Communist) leadership’s sanctioning of EU representatives was a ‘serious miscalculation’ and a ‘personal embarrassment’ for Xi Jinping, who made Europe and investment deals a top priority last December.” He said that despite strong support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, Xi still failed to achieve his goal.
The report also quoted EU Trade Commission President Bernd Lange as saying the deal, which Merkel and Macron planned without rational consultation with the rest of the EU, is now in the fridge and has “little chance” for the next two years, “especially if the sanctions against colleagues continue.
The article writes that “the basic idea of the agreement is important, aiming to guarantee stable framework conditions for both sides in each other’s markets. But criticism quickly rose because Beijing opened only part of its own market, while Chinese companies subsidized by the state continued to move freely in the EU. In addition, the plan has been criticized for the situation in Hong Kong and for accusations regarding human rights. And both the previous and current U.S. administrations have opposed it.”
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