EU, China heading in the right direction

Chinese Vice-Premier Ma Kai (left), Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn (center), and European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, during a news conference at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct 24. [provided to China Daily]

Upcoming talks on investment agreement will promote bilateral trade relations

Although strategic partnerships will be the main focus of the China-EU summit that begins on Nov 21 in Beijing, expectations are rife that the two sides will eventually sign an investment agreement that aims among other things to reduce simmering trade tensions.

According to experts, this China-EU summit is of "special importance" because it will set the tone for future bilateral engagements. Free trade negotiations between China and the EU had not made much progress in the past, because Brussels has yet to grant market economy status to Beijing.

From a European perspective, the current summit is also a rare opportunity to study and observe the new Chinese leadership, especially after the just-concluded Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

"I hope this summit is more of a consolidation effort and less of conflict," says Glyn Ford, a five-times former member of the European Parliament. "The European side will be getting to know the new Chinese leadership at close quarters and there will be incremental, rather than radical, moves in political and economic relations."

The two sides are expected to discuss trade and investment, human rights, innovation, urbanization, rule of law, people-to-people exchanges and defense and security at the meeting. Discussions will also center on respective domestic situations and other major global issues such as G20 cooperation.

Jonathan Holslag, a researcher at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, says that although the upcoming summit, the highest political dialogue platform since 1998, is of importance, nothing new seems to be on the horizon.

"The main objective is to get acquainted with the new leadership in China and to probe its priorities toward Europe," Holslag says.

Holslag says it is clear that China considers good relations with Europe a top priority. "Trade relations have normalized somewhat, but it remains to be seen whether the investment treaty will signal a new era in economic partnership," he says.