On 30 December 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a virtual meeting with European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Counsellor Angela Merkel (representing the German Presidency to the Council of the EU), and French President Emmanuel Macron. The leaders agreed in principle on the conclusion of the negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) between the EU and China.

On 22 January 2021, the European Commission published the full text of the CAI. The text is for information purposes only, and may undergo further modifications over the next months; it will be considered final and binding only upon signature by both parties.

The CAI covers various aspects of market access, level-playing field, sustainable development, and dispute resolution. SESEC analysed the full text, focusing in particular on the content relating to standardisation. In particular, CAI emphasises that both the EU and China are determined to strengthen their economic, trade and investment relations by taking into account the relevant international standards. Both the EU and China shall make their best endeavours to ensure that internationally agreed standards are implemented and applied in their territories, especially for regulation and supervision, and for fighting tax evasion and avoidance in the financial services sector. The CAI also stresses that labour standards shall not be used for protectionist purposes.

More specifically, Section III (Regulatory Framework), Sub-section 2 (Transparency), Article 7, focuses entirely on standard-setting. It reads:

Each Party shall allow enterprises that are covered enterprises of the other Party, to participate in the development of standards by its central government bodies, including related standardisation working groups and technical committees at all levels, on terms no less favourable than those it accords to its own enterprises, including its covered entities. The list of such standardisation working groups and technical committees, as well as their members, shall be made publicly available. This shall include publication of the setting up of standardisation working groups and technical committees.

Each Party shall make available to covered enterprises of the other Party, the requirements for application procedures to the standardisation bodies in a timely and transparent manner, including the conditions for access and requirements for each membership type. On the request, in writing, of covered enterprises of the other Party, relevant standardisation bodies shall inform such an applicant of the status of its application, without undue delay. If the competent authority requires additional information from such an applicant, it shall notify this applicant without undue delay.

Each Party shall recommend that local and non-governmental standardizing bodies in its territory allow enterprises that are covered enterprises of the other Party to participate in the development by those bodies of standards and related conformity assessment procedures, on terms no less favourable than those they accord to its own enterprises, including its covered entities.

Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article do not apply to:

      (i) sanitary and phytosanitary measures as defined in Annex A of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; or

      (ii) purchasing specifications prepared by a governmental body for its production or consumption requirements.

For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, “central government body”, “local government body”, “non-governmental body”, “standards” and “conformity assessment procedures” have the meanings assigned to those terms in Annex 1 of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. Consistent with Annex 1, the two latter terms do not include standards or conformity assessment procedures for the supply of a service.

The full text of CAI is available at https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=2237. SESEC will closely monitor the future progress and ratification of CAI, and will regularly publish ad hoc analysis.