At the end of a 25th round of negotiations, the European Union received its second market offer from China this week, the European Commission announced on Thursday 19 December. The ambition of the parties is to conclude, in 2020, a global agreement on investment (see EUROPE 12355/14). The agreement should enable the EU to obtain better access to China’s investors and provide a level playing field for EU economic operators.
Since 2019, the EU wants to be firmer in the face of the powerful Asian economy, whose commitment to these negotiations is considered too lukewarm. Beijing is therefore expected to be at the turning point: it will have to show good will by putting on the table offers that meet European expectations, as proof of its commitment.
The Commission “will carefully analyse the Chinese offer to assess its level of ambition and the extent to which it reflects the EU's specific demands”, reads the institution's press release.
And the Commission reiterates its expectations in these talks: opening of key sectors (telecommunications, information and communication technologies, health, financial services, manufacturing); improvement of the business environment for EU companies (notably by banning forced technology transfers and discriminatory authorisation procedures or by more strictly circumventing the role of State-owned enterprises). Finally, the EU hopes that China will commit itself to sustainable development, climate and workers' rights. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)