Envoy to bloc sees meeting as chance to push cooperation, with deal in sight

China's top diplomat to the European Union hopes that China and the EU will seize the opportunities arising from a top-level meeting next week to expand cooperation.

Zhang Ming, head of the China Mission to the EU, made the remarks on Wednesday, ahead of a video conference next Monday between President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Germany holds the EU presidency for the second half of this year.

Zhang said the two sides have so far held high-level dialogues on issues covering trade, green policies and digital technology, as well as strategic and security matters.

"Hopefully our two sides will seize the opportunity to do more in an open and cooperative spirit," he told a business forum organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU.

He expressed the view that the two sides have made significant progress in the negotiations for a bilateral Comprehensive Agreement on Investment.

"We need to finish the negotiations by the end of this year and kick-start the FTA (free-trade agreement) process at an early date, bringing more predictability to businesses on both sides," Zhang said.

Negotiations for the investment agreement, first started in 2014, have speeded up despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 31st round of talks held in late July via video conference. The next round is scheduled for Sept 21-25.

Zhang said that both sides should identify more opportunities for cooperation such as in the development and production of vaccines, medicines and testing kits, and for trilateral cooperation in less-developed regions like Africa.

He would like to see the EU participate in China's Global Initiative on Data Security launched on Tuesday, saying: "We need to work together to build an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment, for everyone to benefit from the digital economy."

Zhang said that China is sticking firmly to the direction of opening-up, citing the fact that China has shortened the negative list for foreign investors every year, reducing the number of restrictive measures from about 180 to 33. He pointed out that sectors the EU cares most about, such as finance, infrastructure, transport and automobiles, are being further opened.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, China's FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index has dropped from 0.577 in 2003 to 0.244 in 2019.

However, Zhang drew attention to concerns by some Chinese companies operating in the EU on the bloc's policy direction, such as a less friendly business environment, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Some companies joke that the antitrust investigation, FDI (foreign direct investment) screening and foreign subsidies reviews are like three huge mountains imposed on them," he said.

"Has the EU's DNA changed?" and "Is the EU backsliding in terms of openness?" are some of the questions they have raised, according to Zhang.

Dimitrios Papadimoulis, vice-president of the European Parliament, said that the EU and China and their businesses and people have benefited enormously from their cooperation.

"It is a win-win strategy, especially in the current period when enormous global challenges put at risk economic prosperity, inclusive growth and social cohesion as well as peace and stability," he said.

The Greek politician said that in advancing digital technologies, cooperation between European and Chinese companies could be mutually beneficial for businesses and societies.

Romano Prodi, a former president of the European Commission, stressed that EU-China relations are very important to the world.

He said the two sides should strengthen cooperation for their common interests and sign the investment agreement to ensure a level-playing field.

"There will never be any agreement without concessions on both sides," he said of the bilateral relationship.

Prodi, also a two-time Italian prime minister, noted that it won't be easy because of the different systems, but added that "we can keep the difference in our future life. I don't see quick convergence of the systems."