{"id":91609,"date":"2021-01-02T08:18:12","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T13:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=91609"},"modified":"2021-01-02T08:18:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T13:18:12","slug":"auto-draft-407","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2021\/01\/02\/auto-draft-407\/","title":{"rendered":"EU-China Investment Deal Threatens US-Europe Relations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"VOA \u2014 Just weeks before taking office, the incoming U.S. administration of President-elect Joe Biden has received an unwelcome housewarming gift from the European Union in the form of a wide-ranging investment treaty agreed to in principle between the EU and China.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The agreement, concluded this week after seven years of talks, is a significant coup for Germany, which saw its six-month term as EU president expire on Thursday and which sees China as a major market for its auto and other industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it may be an even bigger win for Beijing, which is facing harsh global criticism over its human rights record and is seeking new foreign investment as many companies move operations out of the country in response to the U.S.-China trade war and other concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"French<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>
French President Emmanuel Macron attends an EU-China videoconference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, Dec. 30, 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the deal was met with dismay by aides to U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has engaged in a long-running trade war with Beijing. And while Biden advisers have been less vocal about their approach to China, they had signaled reservations about the pact and a desire for more input before it was concluded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

EU officials say the agreement, known as the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)<\/a>, will allow European companies to compete more equally with state-owned companies in China, which is now the bloc\u2019s second-largest trading partner after the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It includes provisions for settling disputes, requires greater disclosure of Chinese state subsidies and restricts China\u2019s practice of demanding that foreign investors share their technology in exchange for market access.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The European Commission<\/a>, which handled the negotiations, says the deal will ensure \u201cthat EU investors achieve better access to a fast-growing 1.4 billion consumer market, and that they compete on a better level playing field in China.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chinese state media described the agreement, which still must be ratified by the European Parliament in a process that could play out over several months, as \u201ca New Year gift to the world.\u201d<\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n

In Washington, however, the view is very different.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"FILE<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>
FILE – Matt Pottinger, center, then-Special Assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for East Asia, attends an event in Beijing, May 14, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Matt Pottinger, Trump\u2019s deputy national security adviser, issued a statement saying, \u201cLeaders in both U.S. political parties and across the U.S. government are perplexed and stunned that the EU is moving towards a new investment treaty right on the eve of a new U.S. administration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a strong indication of the potential damage to U.S.-European relations, Pottinger added: \u201cThere is nowhere for bureaucrats in Brussels or Europe to hide. We can no longer kid ourselves that Beijing is on the verge of honoring labor rights, while it continues to build millions of square feet of factories for forced labor in Xinjiang.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"President-elect<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>
FILE – President-elect Joe Biden’s national security adviser nominee Jake Sullivan speaks at The Queen theater, in Wilmington, Del., Nov. 24, 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Biden and his advisers have had less to say about the deal. But his nominee for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, tweeted earlier this month that the incoming administration \u201cwould welcome early consultations with our European partners on our common concerns about China’s economic practices.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

Kasper Zeuthen, a spokesperson at the European Union\u2019s delegation in Washington, told VOA, \u201cWe have signaled to the Biden transition team our openness to cooperate closely on a number of issues relating to China. As for CAI specifically: the transition team cannot engage with foreign governments at this stage. So we have not had detailed discussions. But we have always been very open about what we are doing.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t clear how closely the EU consulted with the outgoing U.S. administration on the negotiations. However, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left no doubt about the Trump team\u2019s view of China\u2019s global ambitions in a December 9 speech in the Southern U.S. state of Georgia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Warning that the Communist Party of China\u2019s endgame is \u201cto dominate the free world,\u201d he said, \u201cIt\u2019s taken this country\u00a0and indeed,\u00a0the free world, a long time to understand the trajectory of China today.\u201d \u00a0As if to drive home the point, the State Department retweeted the speech days before the EU-China deal was announced.<\/p>\n