China-EU Leaders Meeting a productive affair

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU has closely followed the 22nd China-EU Leaders Meeting held on Monday, at which Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held discussions with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen via videoconference.

After perusing news releases issued by both sides, the chamber noted that China and the European Union have reached major consensus on at least two issues that may define the future of the bilateral partnership and global development at this historically critical moment.

First, both powers have shown a strong will to strengthen the partnership to shape the world of tomorrow by turning the two economies into two global engines and therefore becoming stabilizing forces in the world. The chamber has long advocated this course of action by fully recognizing the "two engines" role as we know how huge the potential is for a combined market of almost 1.9 billion consumers and the positive consequences for the global supply chain if the two markets are complementary.

From our observations, however, there is an imbalance. Chinese leaders are pro-active while in Europe, voices are many. The European Union needs to be on the same page to work with China strategically and turn the two economies into the new engines of global growth. We are delighted to see that the message from Michel and von der Leyen is talking talk about engagement and cooperation.

In terms of engagement, the chamber also shares the view that the meetings on Monday are a new starting point, as von der Leyen pointed out. The chamber urges both China and the EU to design the upcoming summit during Germany's presidency of the European Union during the coming six months to generate a long-term impact for the coming five or 10 years or even until 2050.

From now, China and the EU's next stop is the long-planned Summit in Germany this year. Both sides must aim to hold a historic Sino-EU summit, from which benefits will flow beyond the 1.9 billion citizens of our two economies.

The Chinese business community in the EU is looking forward to it. Both sides must expend tremendous energy and time to prepare and pave the way for the development of bilateral relations for years to come.

Along the way, China and the EU must work closely by entering into even more agreements, launching more initiatives and bringing people of both sides, especially young minds, closer and the chamber is ready to deepen such exchanges and dialogue.

Second, with many differences being put on the table, both sides are on the same page in reaching an ambitious comprehensive investment agreement this year despite the fact that the final stages are mounting and tough. This will be a landmark agreement after China and the EU will have finally signed an agreement on geographical indicators soon. The implementation of the agreements will help tap huge market opportunities and both sides should launch a "from agreements to actions" campaign to strengthen the partnership.

We also know there was extensive discussion on digital transformation and green development and we are looking forward to concrete agreement and cooperation projects at bilateral or multilateral levels.

The European side has put many differences on the table as we found from what the two European presidents stated at the press conference.

However, the chamber also points out that there is risk for European institutions to abuse regulatory systems to keep foreign investment out at a time when the European Union and member states badly need it.

We have seen the disruptive effects of the pandemic on business activities and increasingly strict and complicated investment screening procedures at the European Union and member-state level.

Chamber members are keen to become long-term partners and investors in the European market, while pledging not to cut jobs at this critical time, although some of them report that they are not treated on par with local businesses in fiscal and taxation support from European governments.

The author is chairwoman of the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU.