(Français) EU-China Summit: deepening the strategic global partnership
Today in Beijing, the European Union and China held their 20th Summit. President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the European Council Donald Tusk represented the European Union at the Summit, with Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc also participating.
“I have always been a strong believer in the potential of the EU-China partnership. And in today’s world that partnership is more important than ever before. Our cooperation simply makes sense”, said President Juncker. “Europe is China’s largest trading partner and China is our second largest. The trade in goods between us is worth over €1.5 billion every single day. But we also know that we can do so much more. This is why it is so important that today we have made progress on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment through a first exchange of offers on market access, and towards an agreement on Geographical Indications. That shows that we want to create more opportunities for people in China and in Europe.”
In the margins of the Summit,President Juncker also participated in the EU-China Business Roundtable. “The EU is promoting multilateralism, stepping up to global challenges and defending our interests in the world. We will continue to defend a rules-based, open and fair trade. L’Europe est ouverte, mais pas offerte. Let’s go forward together, promoting peace, growth and security.” The full speech is available here (in French).The EU and China have agreed a Joint Summit Statement, illustrating the breadth and depth of the relationship and the positive impact that such a partnership can have, in particular when it comes to addressing global and regional challenges such as climate change, common security threats, the promotion of multilateralism, and the promotion of open and fair trade. In addition to the Joint Statement, a number of other concrete deliverables were agreed at the Summit, including: a Leaders’ Statement on Climate Change and Clean Energy; an exchange of offers on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment; a Partnership Agreement on Oceans; a Memorandum of Understanding on Circular Economy Cooperation; a Memorandum of Understanding to Enhance Cooperation on Emissions Trading; agreement to conclude before the end of October, if possible, the negotiations on an Agreement on Geographical Indications; an Action Plan Concerning China-EU Customs Cooperation on Intellectual Property Rights (2018-2020); a Memorandum of Understanding between the European Investment Fund and the Silk Road Forum confirming the first co-investment carried out under the recently established China-EU Co-Investment Fund; and a Strategic Administrative Cooperation Arrangement and an Action Plan (2018-2020) between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the General Administration of China Customs. The outcomes of the 20th EU-China Summit can be found online in a full press release. A factsheet on EU-China relations is available online.
