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On the brink of China-EU investment deal, eleventh hour pressure comes from US and Europe

The European Union faces opposition from within – and from US President-elect Joe Biden’s team – as it attempts to push through a controversial investment deal with China, while negotiators in the The EU are making last-minute efforts to pressure their Chinese counterparts before a self-imposed one. On December 31, critics say the deal does not adequately protect workers’ rights and leaves out key investment protection mechanisms until further negotiations. Poland has become the first EU member state to cast doubt on the bloc’s rush to seal a “premature” investment deal with China. Get the latest news and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on Big Stories from China. “Europe should seek a fair and mutually beneficial comprehensive investment agreement with China. We need more consultation and transparency to bring our transatlantic allies on board, ”Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau tweeted Tuesday. China strives to strengthen support for investment deal with EU “A good balanced deal is better than a premature deal.” Also on Tuesday, representatives of the 27 EU member states in Brussels dropped the deal with China from their agenda for discussion. Comes a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told EU ambassadors in Beijing that the deal, which he said was close to being concluded, would prove that the EU and China shared more consensus than differences. on the EU’s final negotiation with China, as the bloc fears giving Beijing a diplomatic victory. “The Biden-Harris administration would welcome early consultations with our European partners on our common concerns about China’s economic practices,” Sullivan tweeted. Sullivan’s remarks highlighted the possibility of an EU-China deal leading to a wedge between Washington and Brussels, a high-level EU diplomatic source said. Today, there was speculation that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He might call Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission’s trade chief, to finalize the details of the 130-page deal, but appeal no. did not take place. In areas such as telecommunications and electric vehicles, some member states have called on the European Commission to obtain further concessions from Beijing on issues related to forced labor and investment protection. European source says committee has been asked to get a ‘date clause’ German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who warmly welcomed Biden’s upcoming presidency and the revival of transatlantic relations, is also one of the most fervent supporters of the deal with China, which she sees as a big boost for German companies, but the support of European Parliament lawmakers would be needed to ratify the deal, and some of them are unlikely support him. “Should we really help Xi Jinping [show] Joe Biden the middle finger? tweeted Reinhard Bütikofer, a German member of the European Parliament who chairs the Chinese delegation. “The idea that the EU must rush to strike a deal with China to impress the US is wrong.” The pace of negotiations for this landmark investment deal picked up in September after President Xi Jinping held a virtual meeting with EU leaders and Merkel. EU statements noted significant progress towards a level playing field, especially with regard to state-owned enterprises, transparency on subsidy policy and rules to combat forced transfer of technology. negotiations. Even if an agreement had been reached, it had to be questioned during the ratification phase by the European Parliament, which insists on a strong commitment to human rights.Read more on South China Morning Post: * Soon expected China-EU investment deal says Foreign Minister Wang Yi * Xinjiang’s concerns over forced labor threaten to derail China’s investment deal with EU * China eases restrictions on foreign investment on negative list ahead of latest negotiations with EU * No deal is more likely than a post-Brexit trade pact, says EU chief of China-EU investment deal , the eleventh hour pressure is coming from the United States and Europe first appeared on South China Morning Post Copyright 2020.