Ministry: China-EU investment deal also benefits world

The China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is a mutually favorable treaty, benefiting China, the European Union and the world, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Gao Feng, the ministry's spokesman, said on Thursday that China and the EU are important economic and trade partners with close business ties in a wide range of cooperative fields, and a pattern of intertwined interests has already been formed.

The official made the remarks in response to a question from the media over the recent announcement by the European Parliament over freezing a parliament debate of the deal.

Against the current pandemic situation, the China-EU trade has continued to grow and two-way investment has increased steadily, said Gao, adding that this fully demonstrates the resilience and vitality of China-EU economic and trade cooperation.

Following the joint efforts of both sides, the spokesman said that the China-EU trade soared 42 percent year-on-year to $250.3 billion in the first four months of this year.

In the meantime, the EU's investment in China reached $1.95 billion, surging 12.4 percent on a yearly basis, while China's investment in the EU amounted to $1.69 billion, jumping 70.8 percent.