China and the European Union signed an agreement on Wednesday that notably offers companies from the Old Continent better access to the Chinese market.

But doubts remain about the concessions of the Xi Jinping regime, on forced labor or public subsidies that the state pays to its companies, for example.

After seven years of negotiations, China and the European Union yesterday concluded an agreement giving our companies better access to the Chinese market. 

This is an important agreement because basically, the Europeans have been looking for a better balance in their relations with China for seven years.

Better reciprocity, as they say, because there is no reason why Europe, the world's largest market, should be open transparently to Chinese companies while ours encounter more or less opaque barriers or are being looted their technology.

So does this agreement allow this rebalancing?

The Chinese, it must be admitted, have made concessions in 15 sectors such as finance, construction, air transport, telecoms, etc.

We are still very, very far away, even light years away, from open access to the Chinese market, but it is better than nothing: what we have obtained is always worth taking. 

We can still have doubts about the Chinese concessions?  

Yes, first of all because there is a precedent: when China joined the World Trade Organization 20 years ago, it made commitments that it has not honored.

No one forgot.

In the agreement reached on Wednesday, she pledged to ratify ILO conventions on forced labor.

But who can believe that Xi Jinping's regime will actually end the massive forced labor of the people of Xinjiang?

Another example: China is committed to more transparency on the public subsidies it pays to its companies.

But this is a simple declaration of intent, the agreement does not include any mechanism to force Beijing to respect its commitments. 

Suddenly, is Europe still too naive in accepting such an agreement? 

This is not naivety, it is realpolitik.

Europe prefers to see the glass half full: we have made progress for our companies.

Admittedly, there are many things missing to make it a good deal, including a mechanism to resolve conflicts, but it is better than the status quo.

We could have chosen another strategy, waited for the nomination of Joe Biden and made a common front with the United States.

Biden's entourage has let it be known that the future US president would have preferred this option.

But would we have obtained better access to the Chinese market?

Not sure.

Europe has decided to play its card.

It might be a winning bet.