Brussels, 24/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - The 17th EU/China bilateral summit, to be held in Brussels on Monday 29 June, will mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two partners and lay down priorities for their strategic partnership in the years to come.
The summit will start mid-afternoon with a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the EU - the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker - and their Chinese guest, the Prime Minister Li Keqiang. It will be followed by a plenary session on bilateral political and economic relations, global challenges and international issues, and then a dinner.
This will be the first visit to Brussels of Prime Minister Li since taking up his duties and the first summit with China for Presidents Tusk and Juncker. The 16th summit was held in Beijing in November 2013 and led to a ten-year strategic agenda for cooperation and kicked off negotiations for a bilateral investment agreement (see EUROPE 10968).
As well as a joint final statement, the 17th summit will conclude with a separate joint declaration on climate change. A business summit and dialogue forum on urbanisation and innovation are to be held on the sidelines of the summit.
Investment agreement, talks at midway point. The Brussels summit will be an opportunity to reaffirm the political support of both parties at the highest level to move forward negotiations for an investment agreement, aiming to replace the 26 bilateral agreements in place between the countries of the EU and China with a single agreement, guaranteeing legal protection for the investments of both partners and ensure reciprocal market access for their investors. Six rounds of talks have been held since the negotiations were launched in January 2014, the most recent earlier this month (see EUROPE 11329).
“We are in the middle of the negotiations. We hope that the summit will inject political dynamism to speed up talks”, a Community source close to the dossier said on Wednesday 24 June. The European side hopes to start discussions on market access “soon”. In this area, the EU is calling for restrictions on foreign investment on the Chinese market to be lifted, such as establishment requirements (joint company and upper limits on stakeholdings), sectorial investment bans by means of the 'investment catalogue', technological transfer and local content requirements.
China's participation in the EFSI, more details in September. The leaders of both sides will also discuss investment opportunities in relation to the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and explore synergies with the Chinese initiative 'One Belt, One Road'. The possibility of going further into details on China's participation in the EFSI will be examined at an economic and commercial dialogue session to be held in Beijing in September, a diplomatic source said on Wednesday.
On Monday, the two sides are expected to agree on the creation of an EU/China, connectivity platform to improve infrastructure and transport links. Intellectual property rights, research and innovation, the digital economy and environmental challenges will also be discussed.
Discussion on migration. At political level, a discussion on the issue of migration and mobility is to be held, in light of the situation in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. As regards the visa dossier, a first-stage agreement is expected to be within reach in 2015 and could include a mutual visa exemption agreement for holders of diplomatic passports, the opening of these application centres in cities with no consular presence, and cooperation over readmissions.
The question of the protection and promotion of human rights will also be discussed, on the basis of the dialogue on this matter. The Chinese authorities have invited the Special Representative of the EU for Human Rights, Stavros Lambrinidis, to visit China in November.
Joint climate commitment. On foreign policy issues, the leaders are expected to agree to increase bilateral cooperation, particularly in terms of defence and security, on the basis of the success of the joint fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
On global challenges, the summit will reiterate the importance of a stronger and more effective multilateral system, with the UN currently celebrating its 70th anniversary. The parties will also reaffirm their commitment to the G20 process and the multilateral trade system of the WTO.
As regards the climate, the summit is expected to lead to a joint declaration stressing the crucial role of the EU and China in fighting climate change. The two sides will argue in favour of an ambitious agreement applicable to all parties at the UN conference (COP 21) to be held in Paris in December.
Lastly, on regional and international security, the parties will discuss the situation in Ukraine, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and the Korean peninsula. (Emmanuel Hagry)