Chinese foreign affairs minister Wang Yi called for the launch of free trade talks with the EU, in parallel with ongoing negotiations on an investment deal.
On an official visit to Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, Wang said that both partners should launch the feasibility study for a free trade agreement, which could take “one or two years” to prepare.
“We should seize the opportunity”, he said in an event hosted by the European Policy Centre. “I want to make the plea here.”
“Why aren’t you talking to your largest trading partner? I cannot understand,” Wang said. “Isn’t that a good thing for the European people? Why don’t you do it?”
The EU is China’s largest trading partner and China the EU’s second-largest market after the US.
A Commission official said that the EU’s focus was to deliver on the priorities already agreed in the last EU-China summit.
These include strengthening international rules, notably on industrial subsidies; concluding the negotiations on the investment agreement, and addressing market access barriers. [...]
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