China and the EU-European Union have announced that they have generally agreed to conclude an agreement to expand mutual investment.
It seems that China aims to deepen its economic ties with the EU before the Biden administration is inaugurated in January 2021 in the conflicting United States.
On the 30th, China and the EU held an online summit meeting and announced that they had generally agreed to conclude an investment agreement.
In the negotiations so far over the past seven years, the EU side has asked China to improve forced labor in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, and the technology required for the protection of workers and European companies expanding into China The focus has been on issues such as relocation.
According to the EU, China has agreed to positively consider ratification of an international treaty banning forced labor and to create an environment for mutual investment expansion, such as improving technology transfer issues.
China has recently emphasized its stance of emphasizing international economic partnerships, such as showing its willingness to participate in the TPP = Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and this agreement was also with the EU before the Biden administration was inaugurated in the United States. It seems that there was an aim to deepen the connection with.
The EU has emphasized that it is "the most ambitious of China's agreements," but it has been pointed out that China's commitment to worker protection is inadequate within the EU, and both sides are wary of approaching each other. There are some concerns that the agreement has been rushed before the inauguration of the Biden administration, and it is expected that there will be some twists and turns before the agreement is ratified.