European Parliament "suicide attack" on China
On May 20th, the European Parliament froze the review of the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement with an overwhelming vote of 599 votes in favor and 30 against.
At the end of 2020, China and the EU reached this agreement after seven years of negotiations, which is a remarkable achievement.
China has made many substantive concessions on issues such as market opening, state-owned enterprises, and subsidies. This is the fundamental reason why German Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron support this agreement.
The agreement is essentially mutually beneficial and win-win.
The European Union has won tangible benefits, while China managed to tear a hole in the direction of the European Union when the Biden administration of the United States attempted to establish a united front against China.
However, the "China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement" has been disputed within the EU since its conclusion. Since the agreement needs to be approved by the parliaments of the EU member states and the European Parliament, whether it will be implemented smoothly is still a big unknown.
When the European Parliament froze the review of the China-EU Investment Agreement, it gave a high-sounding reason. After the European Commission imposed sanctions on China on the so-called Xinjiang human rights issue, China immediately launched counter-sanctions against the European Union, including sanctions on five members of the European Parliament and a human rights subcommittee under the European Parliament.