China and the European Union are striving to sign a China-EU investment agreement at the end of the year, posing challenges to the US plan to revive the transatlantic partnership. Joe Biden nominated White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday (21st), tweeting, hope European partners negotiated with the Biden administration as soon as possible on China’s economic activities and expressed their concerns about the China-EU investment agreement.
Jake Sullivan quoted a report on the China-EU Investment Agreement on Monday, saying that “European partners are welcome to start negotiations as soon as possible on both sides’ concerns about China’s economic activities.” Signed, the United States’ plan to re-build the transatlantic partnership with the European Union may be hit.
According to the agreement, China agreed to open up markets for EU companies, including finance, manufacturing, and real estate. The EU will relax China’s investment in its renewable energy market in return. However, given that China has not yet compromised on issues such as international labor rights, In addition, some European countries are dissatisfied with the human rights issue in China, which is expected to be the key to whether the European Parliament passes the agreement.
In addition to the United States, several European parliamentarians and Chinese analysts have expressed concern about this issue, worrying about maintaining long-term friendly trade relations with China. At the same time, Germany, as the EU’s rotating presidency, may shelve labor issues in an rush to reach an agreement.
Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s trade committee, said that the fact that an agreement is about to be reached is clearly worrying. He believes that trade policy does not happen in a vacuum, and how to solve the problem of forced labor will determine the fate of the agreement.
Mikko Huotari, director of the China Studies Center at the Mercator Institute, a German think tank, said that the deal is a symbol of diplomatic victory for China and may make it more difficult for Biden to revive the transatlantic partnership against China. .
When meeting with the EU and the ambassadors of the 27 member states to China in Beijing on Monday (21st), Chinese State Councilor and Minister Wang Yi said that China-EU relations have made significant progress this year and that China-EU investment agreements are expected to reach an agreement.
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