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China tells European Union it won’t miss out because of trade deal with US
- Foreign ministry gives assurances that ‘absolutely no way will European business be affected’ by Beijing’s deal with Washington, EU’s ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis says
- China also committed to concluding negotiations on Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, he says
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Wendy Wuin Beijing
China has sought to reassure European businesses that they will not be disadvantaged by Beijing’s recent trade deal with Washington, according to local diplomats and other sources.
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The US-China trade agreement, under which Beijing has promised to buy large amounts of American products and offer fast-track approval for US agricultural exports, raised concerns within the European Union.
Some in Europe described the deal as “managed trade”, saying it would distort the market. EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said on Thursday it was bad for competitiveness and jobs.
But a top European diplomat said Chinese officials had assured him that European firms would not be unfairly treated as a result of the deal, and that Beijing remained committed to moving ahead with a planned investment treaty between the two sides.
Nicolas Chapuis, the EU’s ambassador to China, told a press conference on Friday that although the EU would monitor the implementation of the US-China trade deal, his counterpart in China had sought to dismiss any concerns.
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