Reuters reported that EU is seeking China’s agreement to open up its market by summer 2019. An EU drafted six-page joint communique obtained reads China and the EU will “agree by summer 2019 on a set of priority market access barriers and requirements facing their operators.” It’s intended to be the deliverable of the EU-China summit on April 9 in Brussels. Chinese Premier Li Keqian is expected to be there, meeting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk.
While there is no other detail reported, we believed it’s released to the proposed 10 actions by the European Commission on relations with China release last week. The proposal will be discussed and endorsed at the European Council meeting this week on March 21. There, EU described China as a “cooperation partner” and “negotiating partner” as well as “systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance.” Some important actions focus on issues like subsidies and forced technology transfers, reciprocity and open up procurement opportunities in China.
