EU to seek reciprocity from China at top-level talks this week
Europeans increasingly questioning why they should welcome investment from a country that isn’t similarly open to investments from them, says EU ambassador to China
The European Union is hoping for progress on bilateral investment, steel overcapacity and infrastructure cooperation in top-level talks with China beginning on Friday, its ambassador to China says.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will lead a large delegation to Brussels for the China-EU Summit on June 2, with topics likely to be discussed ranging from industrial overcapacity to investment, trade and tourism.
Reciprocity would be a major focus, EU ambassador to China Hans Dietmar Schweisgut told the South China Morning Post.
“At a time when concern in Europe about the negative effects of globalisation is rising, Europeans now increasingly ask why we welcome investment from a country which is not similarly open to investments from Europe, e.g. in sectors such as automotive, financial services and utilities,” he said, adding that reciprocity needed to be addressed, “otherwise we will have a negative backlash inside the EU and we will risk anti-China sentiment, which is not in the interests of China or the EU”.
Schweisgut said one way to address the issue was to speed up talks on a bilateral investment agreement which would offer both sides investment protection and market access.
