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EU-China investment deal faces backlash in European Parliament
- MEPs accuse Brussels of ignoring concerns over China’s labour conditions, the crackdown in Hong Kong and ‘showing the middle finger’ to new US administration
- But EU’s top negotiator defends the agreement, saying bloc ‘needs the economic growth that exists in a country like China’
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The European Commission was forced to defend its investment deal with Beijing from intense criticism in the European Parliament on Wednesday, signalling the challenge it faces in getting it over the line next year.
In a lively session of the Committee on International Trade, MEPs accused Brussels of ignoring concerns over China’s labour conditions, glossing over Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong, and “showing the middle finger” to the new Biden administration in the United States.
The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) was signed on December 30 but it needs to be ratified by the European Parliament and approved by the EU Council – the heads of state or government of the EU member states – before it can go into force.
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The commission secured improved market access for European companies in China and commitments from Beijing to progress towards adopting international conventions on forced labour.
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Europe “needs the economic growth that exists in a country like China”, said Maria Martin-Prat, the EU’s lead investment negotiator with the world’s most populous nation.
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