Beijing: On December 30, 2020, China and the EU wrapped up seven years of negotiations, resulting in the bilateral Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). A Happy New Year’s gift for both sides.
The announcement was made during a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen via video link.
The agreement will give companies from both sides more access to the other’s market. “It is a comprehensive, balanced and advanced agreement based on high-level international finance and trade rules,” Shi Zhiqin, a professor with the School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University, said. “The pact will break down the barriers for bilateral investment, provide a stable and open business environment to unleash the fullest investment potential.” There lies a huge untapped potential for bilateral investment between China and the EU. Compared to the overall trade volume, it lags far behind.
In 2019, the EU became China’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching 559.6 billion euros ($630 billion). In the first nine months of 2020, their import-export volume amounted to 425.5 billion euros ($524.85 billion), according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics organization.
– The Daily Mail-Beijing Review News exchange item
