EU — China comprehensive investment agreement: Problems of conclusion and search for the balance of interests

Abstract

This article is a deep analysis of the Agreement between such major partners as the European Union and China, which is fundamentally new for the current stage of international investment cooperation. The need in such arrangement is due to the stagnation of the world economy, the strengthening of protectionist tendencies, the crisis of the multilateral trading system and the strengthening of China’s position, which makes this market more and more attractive, but requires ensuring transparent investment rules and strengthening the regulatory component. The study is the first publication devoted to the analysis of the course and results of the negotiation process, the authors concluded that the ability to ensure the protection of their investors in the market of the partner’s country is the main factor in choosing a market for investment. The authors argue that the intensification of bilateral cooperation between the EU and China has become the most important argument for initiating negotiations on a new agreement and striving to achieve a balance of interests, which determines the appropriate course of negotiations. The aim of the article was to analyze the basic provisions of the investment agreement of the new format, on the basis of which the authors assessed the readiness of the PRC and the EU to provide expanded access to foreign players, as well as identify the main problems in terms of the current regulatory investment regimes and the possibility of achieving a balance of interests of the largest trading partners. The research methodology is based on a qualitative analysis of the content of individual articles and provisions, as well as a quantitative analysis using a general equilibrium model on the example of the automotive industry, as one of the largest and most complex sectors. The author’s assessment of the effect of the Agreement makes it possible to update the conclusions about the advisability of forming agreements of this format in order to achieve mutually beneficial access to each other’s markets, as well as for third countries. This experience can be used when signing investment agreements between other countries.