After Seven Years Of 35 Rounds Of Negotiations, The China EU Investment Agreement Negotiations Were Completed On Schedule

Beijing, Dec. 31 (reporter Ding Fei) - according to the report of CCTV China news, China EU investment agreement negotiation has finally ushered in significant progress. On the evening of the 30th, Chinese and European leaders jointly announced the completion of the Sino EU investment agreement negotiations as scheduled.

The Sino EU investment agreement negotiation was launched in 2013, and after seven years, a total of 35 rounds of negotiations were held. In particular, since this year, the two sides have overcome many difficulties brought about by the new coronal pneumonia epidemic and accelerated the negotiation process. A total of 10 rounds of negotiations were held during the year, and the negotiations were concluded successfully within the year.

What are the contents of the agreement? What are the advantages of investment in Chinese and European enterprises? How will it affect the development of China EU economic and trade relations?

China EU investment agreement is a comprehensive, balanced and high-level agreement, which is benchmarked with international high-level economic and trade rules and focuses on institutional opening-up. Li Yongzhen, director general of the Department of articles and law of the Ministry of Commerce, revealed that the scope of the agreement is far more than that of traditional bilateral investment agreements, and the negotiation results cover market access commitments, fair competition rules, sustainable development and dispute settlement.

"In terms of market access, the China EU investment agreement adopts the model of pre access national treatment plus negative list. For the first time, China has made an opening-up commitment in the form of a negative list in all industries, including the service and non service industries. Of course, the European side also promised China a higher level of market access in the agreement. The market access commitments of both sides are not limited to pre access national treatment and negative list. Sometimes, some restrictive measures do not discriminate against foreign investment, but still have a significant impact on the establishment and operation of enterprises, such as restricting the number, production and business volume of enterprises in a certain industry, or the requirements for export performance. China and the EU promise not to implement such restrictions in most economic areas. " Introduction of Li Yongchuan.

In order to promote and facilitate investment, the agreement contains special provisions to allow the transfer of foreign exchange related to investment, as well as provisions and commitments on the entry and residence of investment related personnel. A high level of market access commitment will bring more investment opportunities for enterprises of both sides, while a high level of fair competition rules will provide a better business environment for bilateral investment, Li said. "In terms of fair competition rules, based on the establishment of a legal business environment, the two sides reached consensus on issues closely related to enterprise operation, such as state-owned enterprises, subsidy transparency, technology transfer, standard setting, administrative law enforcement, financial supervision, etc., in the agreement," she said. In short, the agreement will bring more investment opportunities for Chinese and European enterprises and provide them with a better business environment. "

Li Yongchuan disclosed that China has incorporated the measures of independent opening up in financial and other fields in the China EU investment agreement, and expanded the opening up of some service and manufacturing industries, such as hospitals and automobiles, according to the needs of its own development. "We believe that through further opening up, we can achieve high-quality" Introduction ", which will help to provide better products and services to the people, and will also help China build a new economic system with a higher level of openness. We believe that the China EU investment agreement is a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement. European enterprises and enterprises from other countries in the world can get more investment opportunities and tangible benefits from China's greater market opening. "

According to the data, the EU is currently China's second largest trading partner. In the first 11 months of 2020, the total value of bilateral trade in goods between China and Europe was 4.05 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.7%, accounting for 13.9% of China's total foreign trade. Gao Feng, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, revealed that during the third China International Import Expo, the intended turnover of European enterprises ranked first among all enterprises in the world, with exhibition area accounting for 1 / 3 of the total area, which fully demonstrated the strong willingness of both enterprises to cooperate. "Economic and trade cooperation has always been the" ballast "and" stabilizer "of China EU relations. China is willing to take the completion of the China EU investment agreement negotiation as an opportunity to deepen practical economic and trade cooperation between China and the EU in various fields, especially in advanced manufacturing, service and green industries, so as to push the bilateral economic and trade relations to a new level. " He said.

Yao Ling, director of the European Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the China EU investment agreement will provide greater market access, a higher level of business environment, stronger institutional guarantee and brighter cooperation prospects for China EU mutual investment. "For China, the agreement will provide a fair, stable, open and predictable market environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and operate in Europe, which will help to eliminate and alleviate all kinds of difficulties and uncertainties brought about by the EU's continuous strengthening of internal market protection in recent years. China's investment in Europe is expected to resume its growth momentum."

As for the next steps, when the agreement will be signed and come into effect, Li Yongzhen revealed: "after the negotiation, the two sides need to carry out the legal review, translation and other technical work as soon as possible to promote the early signing of the agreement. After the signing of the agreement, it will enter into force after both parties have completed their respective internal approval procedures. "