Stalled Chinese investment deal set to return to EU agenda next month
- The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, set aside since 2021, will likely be discussed at leadership sessions in May
- The agreement, though, is unlikely to be revived, as the European Parliament’s attitude toward Beijing has darkened in the years since
A stalled investment deal with China is likely to be back on the European Union’s agenda next month, amid a bout of soul-searching over what direction the bloc’s relations with Beijing should take.
Major trading nations will insist on discussing the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) at summits of EU foreign ministers and leaders in May, according to an EU official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
This will be part of a broader conversation on China, as the EU’s 27 member states look to flesh out a model for “de-risking” bilateral ties with the world’s second largest economy. Some officials do not view the CAI in conflict with these aims, since the deal was designed to protect European investments in China.
At summits in Stockholm and Brussels, top leaders and diplomats is likely to discuss whether there is any way of unlocking the pact – even if the prospect looks remote at present.
The CAI was agreed at a political level in the last days of 2020, but ran aground after a row over sanctions months later. The EU sanctioned Chinese officials and entities over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang in March 2021, and Beijing immediately retaliated with sweeping measures against EU lawmakers, academics and diplomats.