French Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester told the press on December 23 that on the issue of negotiations on the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement, “we do not have sufficient commitments from China to abolish forced labor.” He noted that Paris would not support an EU-negotiated agreement if Beijing did not make progress on the issue of forced labor for Uighurs.
Le Monde reported Wednesday that France has refused to support an investment agreement currently being negotiated between the EU and China if Beijing does not ratify the International Labor Organization (ILO) convention banning forced labor, after both Europe and China said they hope to sign the agreement by the end of the year. Rist told the newspaper that the trade agreement is “a lever to advance social issues. A report published on Dec. 15 estimated that 570,000 members of the Uighur Muslim community have been recruited to participate in a forced cotton harvesting program in Xinjiang, the newspaper said. During the interview, the reporter asked, “The EU has been negotiating an investment agreement with China since 2013. What does it contain and under what conditions will France support it?” To this, Rist replied, “This agreement will be an important step in rebalancing our investment relationship with China. First of all, it gives our companies and investors better access to the Chinese market by opening up certain sectors such as IT, telecommunications and transport. It also ensures fairer and more equitable rules of competition in their face.”
Rist added, “The subject of investment protection will not be decided in the agreement, but it is important to protect our companies from the risk of a sudden nationalization. Therefore, we want a ‘rendezvous’ clause that commits the EU and China to conclude negotiations on this topic within two years.” He said, “Be aware that there are significant restrictions in China right now that are detrimental to European investors. Beijing requires them to set up joint ventures with domestic partners, transfer technology, appoint Chinese managers to lead their subsidiaries and even puts a cap on their participation. In contrast, the European market is very open and we would like to have more reciprocity.”
Rist said, “To get France to support this agreement, China must make a clear commitment to sustainable development. This is the case in the environmental field, where China is committed to the Paris Climate Agreement. On the other hand, we have not yet obtained sufficient commitment to ratify the fundamental ILO conventions, particularly those on the abolition of forced labor.” The reporter asked, “Do all European countries share the French position?” Rist replied, “Many countries share our position, such as Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. I also know that Germany takes these issues very seriously. We cannot promote investment in China if we do not commit to abolishing forced labor. Therefore, we are very clear: Beijing must ratify the conventions to which we are committed and must commit to their implementation in the agreement. I have made this clear to our partners and this week to Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for Trade.”
The journalist asked, “Will the EU turn a blind eye to other human rights violations, including the crackdown in Hong Kong and the imprisonment of Uighurs?” Rist said, “We have to make progress on all fronts at the same time: investment, trade, opening up public procurement, sustainable development, and of course human rights. We are very concerned about the situation in Hong Kong, the situation in Inner Mongolia, or the situation of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and the EU Council also took steps in July to increase vigilance over exports of sensitive equipment, especially network surveillance equipment, to Hong Kong.” He continued, “We also decided together with Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian not to proceed with the ratification of the extradition agreement between Hong Kong and France. With regard to the investment agreement currently being negotiated, we have a red line: ratification of the fundamental ILO conventions. The trade agreement is also a lever to make progress on social issues to fight forced labor, especially of Uighurs.”
The reporter asked, “How do we make sure China keeps its commitments?” Rist said, “This is one of the priorities of our trade policy: we need a strong dispute resolution framework, and strong safeguards to ensure that China’s commitments in the agreement are respected.” The reporter pressed, “With the Biden administration set to take office in January, shouldn’t the EU wait a few weeks before consulting with Washington to better negotiate with Beijing?”
Rist said, “The EU must be able to negotiate an agreement with its partners without seeking the consent of other countries, even the United States. It is precisely the size of Europe that we can rebalance our economic relations with China from the top down, and that is one of Macron’s messages in Shanghai in 2019. We will be keen to make progress with the United States on topics such as sustainable development, modernizing the WTO or changing the business practices of global players such as China. Of course, we are happy that a future Biden administration wants to return to multilateral institutions and the Paris Climate Agreement, but we want to make decisions in full sovereignty.” The reporter asked, “What concessions are France and the EU prepared to make in order to sign this agreement?”
Rist replied, “The EU has proposed the opening of some sectors such as energy while protecting our strategic interests. In addition, we introduced in October 2020 a new EU filtering mechanism for foreign investments, which complements the filtering mechanism we have recently strengthened in France. But all foreign companies that invest in France create jobs and they also help with industrial transfers, so we have every interest in making our economy more attractive and simplifying procedures while respecting our sovereignty.” The reporter talked about, “Is there a risk that the signing of this agreement will increase the number of outflows of companies to China?”
Rist said, “No. The purpose is to ensure that our companies have better access to the Chinese market. They need to establish themselves locally, particularly in the service and health sectors, and the agreement will enable them to open private clinics there, for example. We can’t be inward looking, but we need to help companies expand internationally and establish a foothold in foreign markets and not be naive. We also support the relocation of industries as part of the recovery plan.” The reporter concluded by asking, “Why are the documents from the negotiations with China not made public?” Rist said, “This is also a very important point for us. Brussels negotiates on behalf of the member states and is accountable to them, that is its competence, but we need something more precise than what we have been given so far. This agreement has been under negotiation since 2013, and although the negotiations have accelerated in recent weeks, especially on the Chinese side, there is still a long way to go before it can be implemented. If we reach a political agreement with China, then it will be necessary to translate it into a legal text and then begin the ratification process. In the meantime, I will continue to mobilize and will continue to engage with stakeholders and parliamentarians.”
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