Seven years of negotiations on an investment agreement between the European Union and China appear to have reached an impasse in the final phase, as the two sides remain divided on several issues.
According to a new document obtained by Agence France-Presse on Thursday (Dec. 24), China has made new concessions to European companies on access to its market, but a series of differences between Europe and China remain. Both sides hope to reach at least a basic agreement by the end of the year.
Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European Commission, and Liu He, vice premier of the Chinese government, were scheduled to hold a video consultation on Monday to work on the remaining issues, but the high-level dialogue will be postponed until after Christmas, DPA learned from the document. According to the document, the remaining areas for further consultations at the “political level” include labor rights issues.
DPA reported that the thorny issue of discrimination against European companies in China in public tenders has been put on hold, but the two sides agreed to achieve more transparency on the issue of government subsidies.
According to internal documents from Brussels, Beijing has made new concessions in areas such as sea and air transport services, finance, computers, research and development, new energy vehicles, telecommunications, cloud services, and the operation of private hospitals.
According to the report, the draft investment agreement begins with an emphasis on the willingness of both sides to “create a better environment aimed at promoting and expanding trade and investment. The draft says the EU-China investment agreement will be a positive and highly liberal agreement necessary for investment.
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