General

A few days ago, the EU-China Chamber of Commerce and PricewaterhouseCoopers China jointly held a webinar on "The Impact of China-EU Investment Agreement on Enterprises and Prospects for Implementation", and released the "China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement" jointly drafted by PricewaterhouseCoopers China and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Investment Agreement Implementation Outlook Research Report. The report shows that in a survey of more than 500 Chinese and EU enterprises in China, more than 70% of the interviewed enterprises are full of confidence and expectations for the industry development after the China-EU Investment Agreement takes effect.

At the end of 2020, the seven-year China-EU investment agreement negotiation was announced, but the relevant approval procedures were unilaterally frozen by the European Parliament, causing anxiety in the business circles of both sides. Many EU companies believe that the investment agreement will bring great opportunities to deepen the Chinese market. Therefore, there are constant calls to promote the implementation of investment agreements as soon as possible. The report also shows that 58% of EU companies and 46% of Chinese companies in China believe that the signing and entry into force of the agreement will have a positive impact on bilateral investment. In the long run, both the manufacturing and service industries in China and Europe will benefit.

In this regard, Xu Haifeng, President of the EU-China Chamber of Commerce, said that Chinese companies in Europe look forward to the China-EU Investment Agreement to bring about a fair and optimized environment for bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The vast majority of Chinese enterprises believe that the agreement will facilitate the integration of the bilateral competition system and bring positive benefits to enterprises.

Rudd Somerhalder, Managing Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers China-Europe Multinational Enterprises Department, also said that Chinese and European enterprises have high expectations for the signing of the agreement, and believes that its entry into force will bring new development opportunities to enterprises. It will provide more impetus for the in-depth development of China-EU economic and trade cooperation, and bring substantial benefits to the economic and social development of China and the EU, as well as the transformation and upgrading of enterprises.

In addition, the report also shows that despite the unfavorable factors such as the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the increasing downward pressure on the global economy, China-EU economic and trade cooperation still shows strong resilience and vitality. According to statistics, the bilateral trade volume between China and the EU in 2021 will exceed US$820 billion, a record high. China continues to remain the EU's largest trade partner in goods, while the EU has become China's second largest trade partner in goods. The accumulative scale of two-way investment between China and the EU has exceeded US$270 billion. The two sides have active investment and cooperation in the fields of finance, new energy, vaccine research and development, and logistics.

Huang Yaohe, PwC Global Cross-Border Services China Leader, said that China and Europe have always been important trade and investment partners for each other. Although the recovery of the world economy is still facing great uncertainty, China-EU economic and trade relations have shown strong resilience. Looking ahead, China-EU economic and trade cooperation has broad prospects, and it will be the general trend to strengthen bilateral cooperation.