Trade and economic relations with China 2015

Padziļināta analīze 23-06-2015

The EU's trade and economic relations with China, the global leader in trade, are generally good, and the number of disputes reasonable. Yet the EU is dissatisfied with China's reluctance to fully implement its commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and, more generally, with its protectionist measures, which often hurt EU interests. For its part, Beijing is still dissatisfied with the EU's refusal to grant the country 'market economy' status and with other measures it believes limit China's access to the Single Market. Negotiations for an EU-China partnership and cooperation agreement, initiated in 2007, have yet to be concluded. In January 2014, China and the EU held the first round of negotiations for a bilateral investment agreement. Negotiations are progressing steadily but their end is not in sight. More recently, Beijing has suggested opening talks for an EU-China FTA, but Europe’s reaction has been lukewarm.