China and Europe announce the completion of investment agreement negotiations!
On the evening of December 30, President Xi Jinping held a video meeting in Beijing with German Chancellor Merkel, French President Macron, European Council President Michel, and European Commission President von der Lein. The leaders of China and the EU jointly announced the completion of the China-EU investment agreement negotiations on schedule.
Xi Jinping pointed out that 2020 will be a very special year for both the world and China and Europe. The global pandemic of the new crown pneumonia epidemic is deeply intertwined with major changes in the world unseen in a century, and there are more and more unstable and uncertain factors. In this context, China and the EU are facing difficulties and working together to promote China-EU relations to achieve fruitful results. The two parties achieved the expected goal of completing the negotiation of the China-EU Investment Agreement within the year as scheduled, A balanced, high-level, mutually beneficial and win-win investment agreement was reached, Demonstrating China’s determination and confidence in advancing a high-level opening up, It will provide China-EU mutual investment with greater market access, a higher level of business environment, stronger institutional guarantees, and brighter prospects for cooperation. It will also strongly stimulate the recovery of the world economy in the post-epidemic period, and strengthen the confidence of the international community in economic globalization and free trade. To build an open world economy to make an important contribution to the two major markets of China and Europe.
Public information shows that the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement aims to establish a unified legal framework for China-EU investment relations and replace the existing bilateral investment treaties between China and the 26 EU member states. Compared with traditional investment agreements, the main difference in the negotiation of China-EU investment agreements is the introduction of pre-access national treatment and a negative list management system. Pay attention to the "competitive neutrality" of state-owned enterprises and promote higher-level opening up of high-end service industries. Its core content mainly includes four aspects: investment protection, market access, investment supervision, and sustainable operation and development.
What are the advantages of the China-EU Investment Agreement? According to the person in charge of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Commerce: The agreement focuses on institutional opening. The promise of high-level market access will bring more investment opportunities for both companies. High-level fair competition rules will provide a better business environment for bilateral investment. In terms of market access, the agreement adopts a pre-access national treatment plus a negative list model. For the first time, China has made a commitment in the form of a negative list in all industries, including service and non-service industries, to achieve full integration with the foreign investment negative list management system established by the "Foreign Investment Law." The European side also promised me a higher level of market access in the agreement.
Park Dynamics
