Episode 38: Discussion on the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment
With two special guests, lawyer Raquel Garcia-Argudo Mendes in Spain and sinologist Valérie Hoeks in the Netherlands, I discuss the impact and the meaning of the controversial EU - China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment.
On 30 December 2020 the European Commission announced that the EU and China have reached an agreement after 7 years of negotiation which caused a big turmoil as it was in middle of the pandemic, Brexit and right before the Biden administration took over so the international relations were a bit shaken up by this.
The agreement is concluded in principle and has to be ratified by the European Parliament. It is uncertain if that will happen but if passed, it should happen in the first half of 2022. The EU and China are working on the final text right now.
With this investment deal, also called the most ambitious bilateral agreement China ever agreed on, China is opening its domestic market for EU companies. Four aspects: investment liberalization = market access, investment protection/fair competitive conditions, dispute settlement and sustainable development. Examples are that China is eliminating joint venture requirements as required in some industries, end forced technology transfer to improve the Intellectual Property protection environment, abolish equity caps, and quantitative restrictions in certain sectors, protect foreign direct investment of EU companies in China in a similar way to the access Chinese companies have in the EU.
The second aspect is supposed to improve the level playing field and applying fair competition rules for investment. It is the first time that China agreed to include measures related to state-owned enterprises and transparency regarding state subsidies.
With this agreement China will also be facilitated for its investment in the EU of course so the purpose is to strengthen the economic ties between China and the EU.
My guests are
Raquel Garcia-Argudo Mendes, a Spanish lawyer and sinologist, partner of the worldwide China Desks of ECIJA, a large Spanish law firm. Raquel became even more passionate about China after she studied Chinese at the Fudan University in 2010 to 2011. From the Spanish office she is helping Chinese companies succeeding abroad and Spanish speaking companies from Spain and Latin America with their business in China.
and
Valérie Hoeks was my guest already in episode 9 where she told us about her business, China Inroads. As a seasoned sinologist with 20+ years of experience in China, she is helping her European clients successfully integrate with their Chinese partners and vice versa.
Listen to this episode to hear our different take on the agreement, how it is received in the countries where my guests are located, the political turmoil it has caused and so much more!
Valérie: valerie@chinainroads.com
Raquel: gmendes@ecija.com
