China, EU will keep cooperating despite problems, EU ambassador says

Agreeing investment deal was an ‘unprecedented moment’ for EU-China ties, but ‘insufficient to overcome growing differences … on fundamental values’, Nicolas Chapuis says

President of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China says Beijing is trying to woo European firms to boost investment in China

3-MIN READ3-MIN

99+

Nicolas Chapuis, EU ambassador to China, said reaching a deal on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment was an “unprecedented moment”. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:29pm, 7 May 2021Updated: 11:32pm, 7 May 2021

The European Union will continue its engagement with China and raise human rights concerns despite the bleak outlook for a landmark investment deal between the two sides, the bloc’s envoy in Beijing said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the head of an influential EU business association said that despite the political tensions, Beijing had launched a charm offensive to encourage European firms to increase their investment in China.

Nicolas Chapuis, EU ambassador to China, said that reaching a deal on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) was an “unprecedented moment” in relations but “insufficient to overcome growing differences of view on the fundamental values that constitute the political foundation of our strategic relationship”, according to a statement.

Beijing and Brussels concluded seven years of negotiations of the CAI on December 30, but relations have since soured over Beijing’s alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, with the two sides imposing tit-for-tat sanctions.

Brussels said earlier that the ratification process of the CAI “cannot be separated from the evolving dynamics” of the broader relationship.

Relations between the EU and China have soured over Beijing’s alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Photo: AFP