Answer given by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission

The conclusion of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) negotiations came as a result of the progress that materialised in the year leading up to the conclusion of the negotiations, further to a political target set by both parties at the EU-China Summit in 2019 and subsequently reconfirmed at other political occasions. The EU remains committed to engaging with partner countries, including the United States, on a multi-strand approach to China with a view to addressing the challenges linked to China’s state-driven economic model.

The resolution of commercial disputes is not typically dealt with in investment agreements. With respect to investor-state disputes, and given that negotiations on investment protection between the EU and China are still ongoing, the bilateral investment treaties concluded between Member States and China are still in force, including the dispute settlement mechanisms contained therein. The EU and China have agreed to try to complete negotiations on investment protection and investment dispute settlement within two years of the signature of the CAI.

The CAI prohibits forced technology transfers and state interference into the licensing of technology. It also provides for enhanced protection of intellectual property-sensitive business information obtained during administrative proceedings. China has also made commitments to eliminate or phase out joint venture requirements in a considerable number of services and non-services sectors[1]. These commitments, alongside disciplines on state-owned enterprises, transparency of subsidies and the lifting of other market barriers, aim to make the Chinese market more accessible to EU investors and improve the competition conditions in China.

• [1] See text and schedules of commitments: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=2237