EU-China investment deal vital for global trade boost

China and the European Union should accelerate their efforts to reach the EU-China comprehensive agreement on investment (CAI) by 2020, with a view to negotiating a free trade agreement soon after, said a senior official representing EU businesses in China.

Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said that rising uncertainties caused by the unilateral actions of the United States, are bad for business and investment decisions get deferred.

"The current onslaught on the existing multilateral system requires China and the EU - the two major beneficiaries of globalization - to hasten the conclusion of the EU-China CAI, and cooperate closely to safeguard the functions of the WTO," he said.