China and EU wait to see how American election result will affect investment treaty negotiations
- The election outcome may not only alter American relations with other countries but also cause ripple effects for relationships that don’t include the US
- Investment treaty negotiations have been through 33 rounds of talks over seven years and it seems unlikely a deal will be reached by the end of 2020
A diplomatic source said both sides had complained about each other failing “to work hard enough”. The European side has accused Beijing of not delivering more to level the playing field while China is not pleased with restrictions against Chinese investment in the European market, with some of those restrictions deemed to be based on national security grounds.
China’s official position has been that it would “try to complete the negotiation by the end of the year” but the parties have played down that ambition, with one source from the Chinese side saying Beijing now had less urgency towards negotiations than in previous months.
Even if there were a political will to endorse the deal, it was possible it could be delayed until early next year, another source said.