EU-China investment deal on hold as MEPs vote to halt talks

Motion to freeze discussion of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment passes by 599 votes to 30, with 58 abstentions

China ‘wants the CAI deal badly, but they miscalculated and now continue to underestimate the determination of the European Parliament to defend European interests and values’, MEP Reinhard Buetikofer says

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Thursday’s vote in Brussels stalls a deal that was agreed to much fanfare by top EU and Chinese leaders in December. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 10:39pm, 20 May 2021Updated: 11:27pm, 20 May 2021

The European Parliament has voted to freeze discussions on an investment deal with China until Beijing removes the retaliatory sanctions it imposed on EU officials, diplomats, academics and researchers in March.

The motion stalls a deal that was agreed to much fanfare by top EU and Chinese leaders in December.

The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) needs the parliament’s blessing before it becomes law, but members voted not to even consider this while the sanctions remain in place.

The vote on the motion on the CAI passed by a landslide, with 599 votes in favour, 30 votes against and 58 abstentions.

In the parlance of EU bureaucrats: the deal has been put in the freezer.

The motion gained the support of all the major parties in the European Parliament, including the European People’s Party, Socialists and Democrats, European Conservatives and Reformists, Renew Group and the Green Party – a sign of how Beijing’s sanctions helped unite the political spectrum.