Pandemic fails to slow pace of trade and deals struck with partner China

The conclusion in principle of the negotiations for the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, or CAI, on Dec 30 highlighted a year of fruitful bilateral relations.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, negotiations for the agreement, which started seven years ago, speeded up in 2020 after leaders from both sides pledged to wrap up the talks by the end of that year.

In the past few years, many Chinese companies operating in the EU have complained about a less friendly business environment. They likened the EU's antitrust review process, foreign direct investment screening and foreign subsidies reviews as "three huge mountains" weighing heavily on their chests, according to a survey by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU, or CCCEU.

"The CCCEU expects China and EU to promptly complete the follow-up work, ratify the treaty and implement it in a timely way so that to further boost bilateral investment and trade," the CCCEU said in a statement after the conclusion of the talks for the investment pact.