China and the EU were undertaking legal reviews, translation and other technical preparations for the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. Analysts noted that the comment is the first indication that the deal is still moving forward since the EU froze its ratification process in May. Asked about the progress of the CAI at a regular press conference in Beijing, Gao Feng, Spokesman for MOFCOM, said that both sides were making technical preparations. The CAI serves the common interests of both sides and will be beneficial to the global economy, said Gao. “This message is an indication that although ratification of the CAI was frozen and disrupted, it hasn't been stopped,” Cui Hongjian, Director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times. While the ratification procedure is stuck in the European Parliament, the technical work has not stopped, Cui noted.
During a virtual summit among Chinese, French and German leaders last week, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also expressed support for the CAI and cooperation in other areas, according to Xinhua News Agency. As the EU is divided over the CAI, “sending a signal supporting the CAI is also intended to reassure those who support the agreement within the EU, especially business representatives,” said Cui. In May, the European Parliament voted to freeze the CAI, thus blocking the ratification after seven years of negotiations. Commenting on the EU's freezing of the ratification, Gao said that the agreement is mutually beneficial and freezing its ratification does not serve the common interests of the two sides.
The EU is still a very important market for China, and European companies also want to reap the benefits of China's economic development, Song Wei, Research Fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times. “Despite the impact of Covid-19 and the adverse political environment, China and the EU should continue to promote the completion of the investment agreement from the perspective of economic complementarity and the needs of the two sides,” said Song.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell held a meeting by video conference with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 8. Borrell expressed his conviction that EU-China engagement remains essential and that channels of communication need to remain open. Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated his invitation to the High Representative to visit China, while High Representative Borrell expressed readiness to hold the regular EU-China Strategic Dialogue in early autumn, according to the EU Delegation in Beijing.
